In Sight, Out Of Mind
by Emotional Flight
Summary: Riley has run away, Joy has been forgotten, and Sadness and Bing Bong have come up with a plan. There's more to being an imaginary friend than poking around Long Term Memory, after all. Meanwhile, Joy has an in-body experience, and Disgust leaves Headquarters to find her coworkers. A Movie AU.
1. (0:0) Begin

**0.0: Begin**

* * *

 _Riley was not quite sure what had happened._

 _Feelings were so strange._

 _At least she was rid of them now._

* * *

 **In  
** **Sight  
** **Out  
** **Of  
** **Mind**

 _ **An  
**_ _ **Inside  
**_ _ **Out  
**_ _ **Fanfic**_

 _ **By  
**_ _ **Emotional  
**_ _ **F  
**_ _ **l  
**_ _ **i  
**_ _ **g  
**_ _ **h  
**_ _ **t**_

* * *

 _Joy was not quite sure what had happened._

 _Disconnection was so strange._

 _Why was she still gone?_


	2. (0:1) Cycle

**(0.1) Cycle**

* * *

Joy could feel the suction. It was pulling her up, higher and higher, and then-

*Crack!*

The recall tube split at the base.

For a moment, she floated.

Then, she plunged.

The air rushed past her face.

She squinted her eyes as she burst out of the tube, trying to see. Her light pulsed as she flipped about.

As she glanced up out of the abyss, she caught Sadness's eyes.

The blackness closed in around her, and she screamed.

* * *

Riley couldn't feel anything.

To be quite honest, it felt rather exhilarating.

Only objective thoughts. Goals. Steps.

Plans.

Minnesota or bust.

Mom and Dad could stuff it.

The bus pulled onto the highway.

* * *

Sadness stared down into the darkness.

Bing Bong had come back at some point during the last five minutes, and was trying to talk to her.

"Sadness? I need you to look at me okay?"

There was no response.

"Look. Please?"

He grabbed her shoulder and turned her head towards him.

Her vacant eyes stared back into his.

"I know it's bad. It's… probably the worst, to be quite honest. But you can't focus on that right now."

A blink.

"You… you need to keep going. You need to find _something_. Staring down there isn't going to help Joy, and it definitely isn't going to help Riley."

"I…" Her voice petered off, then started up again. "I just make everything worse, don't I?"

"No! Don't think like that. You are important, or you wouldn't be here. I… I'm important too, in some way."

"But… what am I supposed to _do_? I…" She started crying, falling down onto her rear.

Bing Bong sat next to her. "What you need to do… is be yourself. You'll think of something. That's what I do."

Sadness looked up at him, and smiled slightly through her tears.

* * *

Anger slammed his hand down on the console. "This was a bad idea." He glared at said idea, glowing in its protective housing.

"Uh… no duh, Sherlock!" Disgust said, looking distastefully on the blackened console. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Not panic unlike the stick over there." He spared a glance for Fear, who was currently sitting in a corner the room, muttering nonsense. "Joy isn't here to fix this mess. We can't fix this mess." Anger fizzled at the top. "I mean, _fricking damnit_ , we can't do anything!"

"Wait… that's not true." Disgust looked pensive for a moment. "Can we do anything _here_?"

"No." He leveled his gaze at her.

"Then we just leave! Try and find Sadness and Joy! It's not like we have other duties anymore."

Anger rolled his eyes. "Fear already tried that, remember?"

"No. He tried to quit. There's nothing to quit anymore."

"What? But that makes no sense!"

"Of course it makes sense, nitwit!"

"Fine! Just fine! Let's leave then. Leave absolutely no one up here in case Riley recovers. Absolutely brilliant!"

"Well what do you suggest?"

Anger thought for a moment. "You go."

"What?"

"We need someone up here in case Riley recovers while you're out. I'm not leaving Fear here by himself, and I'm not sending just him and you off together."

"Well… are you sure?"

"You came up with the idea."

There was a brief lul, and the whispers of Fear grew slightly louder.

"I'll do it."

* * *

Riley's mom sat in her chair, unsure quite what to do. They had been in San Francisco less than two days, and she was already missing. Her phone sat to her right, having tried unsuccessfully to call Riley once again.

She placed her head in her hands.

Her husband patted her on the back.

"We'll find her. I promise."

* * *

Joy could almost _feel_ the darkness as she fell into the Dump. It pushed around her, raging against her light. The light from above faded as she drew closer to the bottom.

She slammed against the orbs, and nearly went out right then and there. The force knocked the wind out of her lungs, and she gasped in before coughing. The air was thick, almost unnaturally so, and she had to purposefully draw in a breath. She stayed there for a few seconds, just trying to adjust to the weight.

She struggled to her feet, and her eyes immediately cast about. The light she gave off shimmered over the darkened spheres. She made to speak, but broke down coughing.

"No, no no no, no!" Her hands scrabbled around the grey orbs, looking for the purple cloth of a bag that contained Riley's core memories. She rubbed her hand against her forehead. "Come on, stay positive. We couldn't have fallen that far apart."

She stood, and looked about over the dunes of black. One hill over, something shimmered.

She made towards it as fast as she could.

* * *

Riley leaned on her window, staring out dispassionately as the trees and cliffs passed through her vision.

Speed. Agility.

She was ready to go.

The bus continued roaring down the highway.

* * *

Bing Bong walked next to Sadness as they traveled towards Imagination Land. "Do we have a plan?"

Sadness glanced back at him. "Well, I've only read a majority of the mind manuals, but I've read enough of them to get a major idea of the way Riley's mind works."

"Okay…"

"There's a lot of things in Riley's mind that go through Headquarters. Unfortunately, the Train of Thought carried most of the stuff between parts of Riley's mind."

"And… it fell into the dump."

"Yeah. There's another Train of Thought, but it only goes to Headquarters when it absolutely has to, and most deliveries it makes are between the Factual pieces of the Mind Space."

"Do you think it can take us?"

"No. They're probably busy enough as it is. And unless another recall tube happens to open up, we can't use one of those either."

"So what are we going to do?"

"To make a long story short?" Sadness looked up at him. "I'm going to do something _really_ dangerous."

* * *

Anger stood next to the recall tube and looked at Disgust, who was, predictably, fussing over her clothes. "Can you just get in?"

"You know I can. Just let me-" one of the wrinkles in her skirt smoothed out, "-there."

"Just get in the tube."

Disgust came over and stood right over the pedestal. "Are you sure about this?"

Anger glared at her. "About as sure as I am about anything anymore."

Fear's whispering reached a crescendo as Anger slammed his foot down on the button.


	3. (0:2) Smolder

**(0.2) Smolder**

* * *

Joy skidded over the grey spheres, their round nature causing a problem getting traction. Around her, miscellaneous memories evaporated from the dunes in grey sparks. She darted up the last pile and slid down the other side, stopping next to the color she had seen.

It was blue, shining with a brilliant inner light.

She reached down and picked it up. "What are _you_ doing down here?"

She took her finger and dragged the memory back.

It started to shimmer golden.

" _...we used to go out on the lake almost every weekend."_

Joy blinked.

" _Or, at least we used to…"_

"You… I…"

She slumped, her inner light playing off the surrounding dunes.

" _But everything's different now."_

"I just wanted to keep her happy…"

The air pressed down on her back, and she fell kneeling to the ground, her hand gripped around the blue orb.

"Why couldn't it just be simple?"

" _Since we moved."_

She curled into a ball, the memory still playing in her grasp.

Her tears fell, and they came away as ash.

* * *

Two dunes over, a purple bag with several golden memories contained within it rested. It glowed with enough intensity to light the surrounding bowl it had landed in.

The light coming out from its opening dimmed slightly.

There was a moment of stillness.

The purple bag dissolved into wisps of smoke.

* * *

Joy stumbled to her feet, fighting against the air, the glowing memory clutched in one hand. She looked down at it.

"I… I don't know quite what you're doing here, or why you haven't gone yet."

Joy looked closer. Riley's face, sad and held within.

"But… I guess you're important. You must have been, to be a core memory."

She sniffled.

"I guess I just don't see it quite yet."

She smiled down. The light from the memory dimmed.

"Maybe I'll know better when I get wherever we're going."

It dissolved into curls of smog.

* * *

Joy was sitting on the top of a high rise. She looked up towards the light at the top of the cliff, the pink walls just barely reflecting enough light down into the grey depths for them to hit her retina.

"I was a pretty bad leader, wasn't I?"

A laugh echoed from one of the grey memories next to her.

"I just went with whatever I felt like doing. I never even took their advice most of the time."

Several memories near her hands wisped away.

"They tried. I failed."

Her light dimmed. She gave a smile.

"I hope I have the time to get better."

As she closed her eyes, her light…

...the flame of Joy…

...went out.

* * *

 _Darkness._

* * *

"Hey boss! I've got another big one!"

…

"It's not my fault! We do process _everything_. There's bound to be some mishaps."

…

"I know we have to check them all! Again, not my fault!"

…

"Look, I'll go look at it. If it's another stupid Mind Worker, I swear…"

…

"Uh… Yeah, it's not."

…

"I don't _think_ so."

A poking feeling.

"No. It seems to solid for that."

…

"Well, it's got two hands, five fingers each. A green dress, two feet, some blue hair and eyes. It-"

…

"What? But it seems too sparkly."

…

"Huh. What are the chances. The first actual hit. What should I do with it? Send it back through the Breach?"

…

"That… could work. It would take some effort, but it would be like it never happened."

…

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Darkness.

Joy had never really appreciated how the dark could be scary. After all, the dark was something that she pushed back. Her inner flame was bright enough to be expressed, so she never had to worry about _truly_ being in the dark.

So when her eyes blinked open, and she couldn't see anything, she simply waited.

And waited.

She blinked again.

Still nothing.

She lifted her foot, and stepped forwards.

" **Body Consciousness Reupload Procedure Active."**

"Uh… what?" The strange voice, along with the total darkness, caused her to shudder.

" **Please say your name."**

She squinted, trying to see through the blackness. "Joy?"

" **Subject: Joy. Starting Procedure in 5… 4… 3…"**

" _Whaaat_ are you doing?"

" **2… 1…"**

"Hello?"

" **Engage."**

Joy's world exploded into pain.


	4. (0:3) Purpose

**(0:3) Purpose**

* * *

Bing Bong was guiding Sadness through Imagination Land. They were just passing trophy town, and a Mind Worker had just pinned a medal on his chest. That, however, did not stop him from harping on her.

"What kind of dangerous are we talking, here?"

"Well, the only real reason it's dangerous is because it's never been tried before." She gave him one of her rare smiles. "I should be fine."

"What are you even planning on doing?"

"Well… do you know what a Daydream is?"

Bing Bong scratched his head. "Not really? I'm not sure. There's a Daydream Production plant, but I never quite figured out what it was."

"Well, that's where we need to go."

"Alright." Bing Bong changed his course. "So, what is a Daydream then?"

"A Daydream is either a meta-physical rendering of a concept by linkage to Imagination Land, or a variable memory replacement that lets you imagine something without having to recall your actual past."

Bing Bong stared at her as if she had just grown a second head. "What?"

"Oh. Right." Sadness sighed. "I'm not very good at this, am I?"

"No, I think you're just too smart for me."

"Well, think of it as… uh… they can either take something in Imagination Land and make it so that Riley can see it in the real world, or they can let Riley think of something that she hasn't actually seen." Sadness looked at him for approval.

"That… makes sense. So how is this helpful?"

"So, do you remember being with Riley?"

"Of course I do!" His vision glazed over slightly. "It was only the best time of my Imagined life."

"Well, you were Imagined in Imagination Land, right?"

"Yeah…"

"You actually have a Daydream connected to you around somewhere."

"Really?" Bing Bong looked around as if expecting to see it. "Where?"

"I'm hoping to find it. It should be in the Daydream factory somewhere." Sadness looked down at her feet. "If we can't, we can forge you a new one."

"Alright. What would that do for me?"

"Well… if I can convince someone up in Headquarters to… you should be able to get injected meta-physically in the real world."

"You mean… she could see me again?" Bing Bong's eyes lit up.

"That… yeah. Basically."

"That's amazing! Why didn't someone do that earlier?"

"Well, for one, having Imaginary Friends past the age of five or so _generally_ gets the person locked up for insanity."

"Oh." Bing Bong looked down. "Then why are we going to?"

"Well…" Sadness looked over her shoulder. "Mostly because of _that_." She pointed at the, just visible, Family Island statue as it shrank in size. The two heads of the parents began to fall behind the horizon.

They watched until it disappeared behind one of the buildings in Cloud Town.

"The last one's down." Sadness looked down. "May Emotica help us all."

* * *

Headquarters rumbled in the distance.

* * *

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Anger slammed his fist into the glass window pane. "It's gone. They're _all_ gone!"

From his corner, Fear's whispered to himself. " _It'll all be okay. Just take a deep breath."_ He drew a shuddering breath in. " _Focus. You need to focus."_

" _It'll all be okay."_

* * *

Riley could _feel_ it slightly.

The last of the feelings.

Gone.

She gave herself a small smile.

* * *

Sadness plopped down her rear. "It's gone. I can't believe it. Why is it gone?"

Bing Bong grabbed her. "I… I don't know. But you have to stay _focused._ We _will_ have time for worrying about it, but we need to _go_."

Sadness looked up at him. "But… it's just so _sad._ "

"I know." Bing Bong looked at her. "I felt the same way about my rocket."

Sadness looked up at him. He nodded. She started to cry, and buried her face in his chest.

"You're part of a bigger thing, and it's sad that it's falling apart." Bing Bong looked down at her with a smile. "But, unlike my rocket, we can make an attempt to fix this."

Sadness sobbed. She gave Bing Bong a sad smile.

* * *

Sadness stood next to Bing Bong in front of an enormous building.

"I never realized it was so _large_ ," said Bing Bong, as he gazed up… and up… and up… until he saw the top, shining with light. Random ledges and overhangs with occasional crenelations and various building materials poked out all the way up to the top.

"It has to be. It's a lightning rod of imagination. It draws all of those random thoughts together and coalesces them into… well, not Ideas, persay, but Daydreams. It's what made you. It permeates this area of the mind with concepts."

"Do we have to go all the way to the top?" He looked down at her worriedly.

"Unfortunately… yes. I'm not sure I can even make it that far." Sadness looked up the building with trepidation.

Just then, the tower seemed to _warp,_ twisting in a way that seemed to defy whatever laws governed the Mind Space. Then, it snapped back into place… shorter than it was before. One of the walls had turned entirely flat, and had an entrance at the base.

Sadness blinked. "That was weird."

"Does it normally do that?"

"Well, it's mostly random, but usually it gets larger. It getting smaller… she must not be using Imagination Land much right now."

The building _warped_ again, and while shorter, the wall turned back to its old random self.

"We can do it." Bing Bong looked down at her. "I'm sure of it."

* * *

"Three-hundred and seventy-two, three-hundred and seventy-three, three-hundred and seventy-four-"

"Are you _sure_ we've only made it that far?" Sadness groaned, stumbling onto an escalator, while Bing Bong stepped up the stairs on their right.

"Pretty sure. I never was _amazing_ at counting. Three-hundred and fifty-seven, three-hundred and fifty-eight, three-hundred and fifty-nine…"

* * *

Sadness groaned as she stumbled over the next step and fell over. "Urgh… I'm not sure I can make it."

Bing Bong turned around. "You can do it! You just need to keep moving."

"Well, I-" She didn't get to finish as the building _warped_ around her. The castle piece she was on softened, then turned to liquid, flowing down into the next level as lava. She was held stationary until the building snapped back. She started to fall.

She grasped the vine wall that had appeared next to her, and she swung back and forth, in and out of the building.

"Sadness!" Bing Bong crept closer to the sheer drop that had appeared. "Uh… what should I do?"

"Try and grab the-" She swung out of the building. Bing Bong waited, and she swung back in. "vine I'm on and haul it up!" She swung back out.

Bing Bong got as close to the edge as he dared and reached out his trunk. The vine swung in, and he wrapped his trunk around it as tightly as he could. The green vine strained against it, and he pulled back. Then, he reached out his forelimb and grabbed the vine. It quivered, but held.

Sadness started to climb up the vine.

The building _warped_ again.

The vine disappeared, and Sadness was once again held stationary.

She started to fall…

Bing Bong winced and looked down.

"I'm okay." Sadness's voice came up from the bottom of the cliff. She floated up on a cloud which she had fallen onto. "This is a bit more dangerous than I thought."

* * *

Sadness stared out over the Mind Space from their almost prime viewing location. They had decided to take a break at this most recent landing. Sadness was leaning up against the glass interior, the natural light from the sky shining in through the window of the skyscraper.

The sky darkened, heralding the return of sleep.

Sadness moaned. "Oh. We're never going to make it."

"Yes we will! There's just twenty more flights of stairs!"

Sadness stared at Bing Bong. "Based on your counting, there should be _at least_ seventy more flights."

Bing Bong looked slightly sheepish, and scratched the back of his neck with his trunk. "Well, in my defence, I did say I was pretty bad at counting." He looked through the glass floor. "Plus, this building changes shape."

Sadness stood back up. "Well, I guess we're almost there."

They started up the next flight, this set seeming to be made of diamond.

"So… you still haven't told me. What was so dangerous about this again?"

Sadness drooped slightly. "My plan is to… well… try and get myself integrated into a Daydream."

"You want to what?"

"I'm going to try to transfer my essence so that I become part of Riley's Imagination. In theory, this would allow me to make a Daydream of myself."

"You're trying to… patch yourself into Riley's Imagination?" Bing Bong looked curious at this. "Why is that dangerous?"

"Well…" Sadness tilted her head at him. "I haven't exactly tested it before, and no one else has ever had this problem. I don't even know if it will work or not."

"Oh. So you're treating it like it's dangerous, even though you are pretty sure it isn't."

"No. I _know_ it's dangerous."

Bing Bong looked confused. "What?"

"Look, Imagination is fairly chaotic. Trying to patch someone who isn't meant to be there into the system…" She shrugged. "I just don't know. At best, the randomness accepts me quickly. At worst…" She looked down. "I'm actually not sure if being torn into pieces or being brainwashed is better."

Bing Bong looked horrified. "Why are you doing it then?"

"Because." She looked up.

They reached the top of the last flight.

"We all have a purpose."

They looked at the golden door.

"We might just not know it yet."

Sadness pushed it open.


	5. (0:4) Form

**(0.4) Form**

* * *

Riley sat on her soft bus seat, her face plastered against the window. She moved into the most optimal position.

" _I'd better get some sleep."_

She closed her eyes and drifted off.

* * *

Anger stood next to the console and watched as Riley closed her eyes, the world outside the window darkening. "Well. That just happened."

He pulled up a chair. "I guess I'm on Dream Duty - if she even has those anymore."

He leaned back in his chair and grumbled to himself.

* * *

Fear wasn't sure what had happened.

" _They're gone! They're all gone!"_

He had tried. He _knew_ he had tried.

"You _came up with the idea, not me."_

There… there was a plan. He had been busy.

" _Just get in the tube."_

Someone… Disgust… had left. She was trying to… find. Search.

"This _was a bad idea."_

The light bulb. They had decided to… run away.

She was gone.

He had failed.

He curled in closer and shuddered.

* * *

Disgust could feel the suction. It was pulling her up, higher and higher, until it reached its apex.

Then, she began to plunge.

The air whipped past her face as she slid down the slippery tube. Window panes dispersed intermittently along its length allowed her to see where she was going.

She screamed as she plunged down the steep tube right next to Dream Productions.

She hit the glowing pile of memories at the base, blinked once, then fainted.

* * *

Sadness blinked. The room she was looking into was…

...organized really well?

Stacks and stacks of filing cabinets and bookshelves dotted the walls, with what looked like desks from the library in Minnesota interspersed throughout. Papers were set in neat piles nearly to the ceiling, which was just a foot over Bing Bong's head.

Bing Bong spoke up. "This… _is_ the top of Daydream Productions, right?"

"Yes, it is," a voice said, coming from behind two filing cabinets. "And it is a _pain_ to keep organized, so please refrain from moving too many things. I have enough trouble with the herd of giraffes that comes through once every other week." A Mind Worker rolled out on an office chair. She had the appearance of an old lady, and wore a pair of horn rimmed glasses which she used to look over at them. "And what are two intrepid adventurers doing at the top of this tower, hmm?"

"Could I… maybe… become part of the Imagination Core?" Sadness asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.

"Oh! Just give me a second." The Mind Worker's chair whizzed away, and she started to type on a typewriter that Sadness could have _sworn_ wasn't there before. "I haven't had to do this in absolute _ages_!" She once again zoomed away and grabbed a book before pushing off, grabbing a paper out of the middle of a stack without even ruffling the ones on top and coming to a stop at their feet.

She grabbed Sadness, and pulled her over to the nearest desk. "I'm going to need you to sign here," she pointed at a line, "fill in this section," pointed at a block of text, "and fill out this form." She slammed another piece of paper down next to the first one.

Sadness blinked, slightly overwhelmed.

Bing Bong came over and looked over her shoulder. "Why do you even have a form for that?"

The Mind Worker looked over at him. "Do you _know_ how hard it is to organize Imagination? There's a form for everything. If there wasn't, I don't know what I'd do."

"Has… anyone asked for this before?" Sadness asked.

"Nope! You're the first. I always love finding new forms." The Mind Worker gave a silly smile. "If you fill it out, I'll notarize it, and you can go into the far room." She stuck out a thumb towards a set of wooden double doors on the other end of the room.

"And… what's in there?" Sadness asked nervously.

"The Imagination Core, of course. This is the Library at the Top of the Tower, after all. The Last Stop Before Total Chaos." The Mind Worker gave Sadness a smile, and patted her on the back. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

Sadness gave a gulp, and started filling out the forms.

* * *

Bing Bong watched the Mind Worker shake her head as she wrote faster than his rocket could fly on enough pieces of paper to drown the entirety of Long Term. Sadness was busy filling out paperwork one table over.

He coughed politely.

The Mind Worker looked up. "Yes?"

"I was wondering… do you have Daydreams around here somewhere?"

"I do."

"Could you find me one?"

The Mind Worker looked at him over her glasses. "Let me guess. You want your own."

"That would be nice." Bing Bong smiled down at her.

"Sorry, but I can't give Daydreams to their manifestations." The Mind Worker looked slightly apologetic. "It's not because I don't want to, but the feedback would Disimagine you, and you would cease existing."

Bing Bong looked mortified. "Really?"

The Mind Worker nodded slowly. "Someone else can hold your Daydream, but not you. If you can find someone else you trust, I can get the form for them."

Bing Bong looked at her. "So… Sadness could hold it no problem?"

"Yes. That would be fine." She smiled at him. "If she succeeds, would you like her Daydream?"

"Yeah. That would be good."

"Yes! I haven't had this busy a day in ages!" She zoomed off on her chair.

* * *

Anger was utterly bored. The uncharacteristic darkness of the screen in front of him was accentuated by the lack of lighting around the room. No memories, no console, no dreams.

Why did Joy have to be such an idiot?

Among other things, Fear's whispering was starting to drive him crazy.

* * *

Sadness was busy looking through the latest in an onslaught of forms.

 _ **Release of Imagined Essence to The Library at the Top of the Tower and Its Librarian (version 2.44)**_

 _This agreement releases The Library at the Top of the Tower and Its Librarian (hereafter known as TLatTotTaIL) from all liability relating to injuries that may occur during all Daydream transporting activities, Imagination Core engagement, or any other dangerous activity related to Daydreams. By signing this agreement, I agree to hold TLatTotTaIL entirely free from any liability, including responsibility for injuries incurred, regardless of whether injuries are caused by negligence._

 _I also acknowledge the risks involved in Daydream related activities. These include but are not limited to explosions, Disimagination, and brainwashing. I swear that I am participating voluntarily, and that all risks have been made clear to me. Additionally, I do not have any conditions that will increase my likelihood of experiencing injuries while engaging in this activity._

 _By signing below I forfeit all right to complain to any higher powers in Riley's Mind Space, including, but not limited to, Inductive Reasoning and Headquarters. In return, I will receive the ability to transport Daydreams and engage the Imagination Core. I will also make every effort to obey safety precautions as listed in writing and as explained to me verbally. I will ask for clarification when needed._

 _I, _ _ _ _ _ _ _, fully understand and agree to the above terms._

She winced, and scrawled her name on the bottom.

* * *

The light of awakeness was shining through the windows when Sadness finally set down her pen. "Well, I think that's it."

Bing Bong, who had a pile of forms next to him as well, lifted his head from his desk. "Finally. How many of those things did you have to fill out?"

"Uh…" Sadness looked at her pile. "Forty-two, I think. What about you?"

"I just had eight." Bing Bong shuddered. "I can't imagine what they needed your signature that many times for."

"Six of mine were making sure that I _really truly_ wanted to go through with integrating myself into the Imagination Core." Sadness slay down with her head on the desk. "At least twenty were informative documents that listed most things that could happen if I tried - and since no one's actually done it, there was some pretty imaginative stuff on there."

"Well, at least we can grab each other's Daydreams now," said Bing Bong.

"Yeah." Sadness slumped over her desk. "Is it bad that I really, _really,_ want a nap?"

"Only if you want to go through with your expedition before you go to sleep." The Librarian had come over and was leafing through the pile of papers. "Everything seems in order."

"I probably should." Sadness got up, still slouched. "I'm not Fear, but reading through all of those…" She shuddered.

"You should be okay." The Librarian gave her a small smile, and guided her towards the door.

Sadness stood in front of the wooden divider, and nodded at the Librarian. The Librarian pulled the door open.

A translucent barrier covered the entranceway, shimmering in different colors, but that did not stop the tearing winds blowing out of the opening. They blew through the room, ruffling all the papers in the vicinity.

Sadness could feel the powerful forces pushing at her, and she was almost blown off her feet. She locked eyes with Bing Bong, who had wrapped his trunk around a post to stay where he was. He nodded.

She grimaced, and trudged her way into the room through the forces of Chaos.

* * *

 **End of Arc 0**

* * *

 **Hello, and welcome to In Sight, Out Of Mind! Thank you for reading, and special thanks to everyone who followed and reviewed! I really am interested in seeing how I can improve this, so feel free to tell me.**

 **As you can probably tell, this story will vary somewhere between dark and funny, depending on what mood I'm in and where the plot is taking the characters. It will also contain loads of headcanon - I have a decent idea of other places in Riley's mind, and I'm totally ready to put Disgust through the grinder. (If you're interested in reading some of my headcanon, I talk about it on my blog. It is totally unnecessary if you don't want to though - I should explain it through the story.)**

 **At any rate, I'll try to put Author's Notes at the end of each arc to avoid cluttering the chapters with meaningless drivel.**

 **See my profile for my Disclaimer.**


	6. (1:0) Tear

**(1.0) Tear**

* * *

 _Joy could feel the_ _ **pain.**_

 _She felt like her skull was being pumped full of things. Ideas, knowledge, concepts, things it wasn't meant to hold. At the same time, she felt like all the things that were already there were being yanked out, then put back in, over and over again._

 _ **Joy could**_ _feel the_ _pain_ _._

 _There was something different about this pain. It was hovering, waiting to strike. She wasn't ready for it._

 _ **Joy could feel**_ _the_ _**pain.**_

 _It struck._

 _ **Joy could feel the pain.**_

* * *

 **In  
** **Sight**

 **Arc I  
** **A Part  
** **Apart  
** _ **or  
**_ **Fragmentation**

 **Out  
** **Of  
** **Mind**

* * *

 _Sadness could feel the_ _ **pain.**_

 _Her pieces felt torn asunder, ripped apart by the forces of the Daydream. She was being placed somewhere she wasn't meant to be, melded with the forces of chaos. She was torn down to her basic parts. Sadness, grief, crying._

 _ **Sadness could**_ _feel the_ _pain_ _._

 _There was something different about this pain. It was wrapping around her, ready to squeeze. She wasn't ready for it._

 _ **Sadness could feel**_ _the_ _**pain.**_

 _It pulled inwards._

 _ **Sadness could feel the pain.**_


	7. (1:1) Carve

**(1.1) Carve**

* * *

Joy tried to open her eyes, but the light carved into them like a blade, and she clenched them shut. She curled up a little more and groaned.

She felt like someone had taken her brain, pulled it apart, inspected it by poking it as much as possible, and put it back together backwards, upside down, and in a total mash. Her hands gripped at her head as if trying to pull her bright blue hair out by the roots.

"Are you okay, lady?" A voice floated down into her ear, and she winced.

"No," she managed to choke out through her moaning.

"Huh. Do you need some help?"

Joy let that thought ruminate for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure."

"Oh."

There was a pause, during which Joy recognized the loud sounds of a party going on in the background. She tried to open her eyes again, and found it slightly more bearable. Some sort of person filled her fuzzy vision.

"Where am I?" she asked, scrunching her eyes shut again.

"Well if you're talking about the alley name, I have no idea. But if you want the name of the city, it's New Orleans."

"Hmm. Okay." Joy went back to groaning - until she realized what the voice had said. "Wait, what?"

"New Orleans. Seriously, what did you drink last night? It must have been pretty stiff." The voice sounded slightly sarcastic. "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Her headache (if you wanted to call this utter annihilation of her mind that) had not abated since she became aware of her surroundings, and her surprise only aggravated it. She started to moan again.

That was when she was hit with a bucket of water.

"Gah!" She sat up instantly, trying not to sputter. "What was that for?" She looked at the water thrower.

He had a mop of brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and was smiling slightly at her. He was also shimmering slightly, a sort of golden aura. However, that was all irrelevant based off of one fact…

He was a _human!_

* * *

She could _feel_ herself coalescing.

 _Blue._

It was an odd sort of feeling, but it also felt _right,_ like she was supposed to do this.

 _Crying._

Her parts were coming together.

 _Greif._

Sadness burst into existence.

* * *

Disgust awoke with a splitting headache.

Her eyes blinked open, and she winced, the stark light of consciousness lighting the pile of memories she was laying on to an almost unbearable glow. She pushed herself up, and blinked rapidly to clear her head.

"Urgh…"

Her feet shook slightly, then steadied.

"I can't _believe_ I agreed to this."

She looked about, and saw the sign for Dream Productions.

"Well, at least there's civilization here." She stood and walked towards the building.

Disgust walked underneath Dream Production's archway.

It was as silent as the Dump. On one wall, the lights over some of the posters flickered. Tons of random set pieces lay up against the walls on either side of the roadway. One light had fallen over, and was sparking near its bulb.

Disgust walked over to the side of the road and picked up a woolen sheep costume. She sniffed at it.

"Ugh. I don't know _how_ they wear those things." She dropped it next to the wall. "And where _is_ everyone?" She stepped over the lamp and continued down the barren hall.

It was then that she heard a noise. She twisted, and looked over at the lounge like building across the street. She quietly walked up to the door, gulped, and pushed it open.

* * *

Fear stood in front of the mind manual bookshelf, his eyes slightly glazed over.

" _You don't need to be here. You could move on. Find somewhere else to be."_

 _But I need to help her! She's broken!_

" _But you can't fix her."_

Fear's hands started to quiver.

 _I can_ try _. And that's what counts._

" _But it's not logical to try to do something impossible."_

 _Joy once told me that nothing is impossible._ He leaned his hands on the shelf in front of him. _It just seems that way from your perspective._

" _And see where that's gotten her."_

 _Do you think I care?_

" _I think you care too much."_

 _So what if I do?_

" _It's not logical!_ Why _do you care?"_

 _Because if I don't…_

" _Yes?"_

 _...no one will._

Fear grabbed the first book on the shelf and flipped it open to the first page.

* * *

She was… on fire?

The flames didn't really hurt, though.

Sadness stretched out a hand and stared at the blue… light refraction? She wasn't entirely sure. It kept her warm for some reason. As she lifted her hand, it seemed to shimmer the light slightly, many shades of blue shimmering over the papers and filing cabinets of the Library.

She looked up to see Bing Bong. It was then that she realized that she couldn't hear anything, since he was obviously saying something, but she couldn't hear it. As she made this realization, she found that the voice was coming through. It faded in and out, fizzing slightly.

"...to concentrate! You haven't-" - a break - "solidify! Focus on your Individuality! It-" - a break - "-sane and-" a break - "together!"

She got the gist, and started to focus. She _meant_ something. It was her that helped Riley when she need comfort. She couldn't make Riley happy, and she wasn't good at keeping her safe.

 _Because we all have a purpose…_

But she helped those that needed it.

 _...even if we don't know it yet._

She

 _was_

 _ **Sadness!**_

* * *

The Flames of Imagination condensed in a spectacular blue light show.

* * *

The blue light reached Headquarters, where a red brick was staring at the console. He looked up when he saw the light flickering over where the screen would be through the window. His chair turned around, and he walked over to the window.

He watched the blue light slowly flicker away into a faraway point.

* * *

Across the room, a purple emotion hardly noticed the pyrotechnics. He was too busy reading.

 _ **Memories**_

 _Memories are an efficient method of recall for the host. They hold thoughts on a scene coupled with an emotion._

 _They are generally made when a notable event happens and an Emotion uses the Console. (See pages 232 and 765.) They should come out of the Memory Shute when this action is performed._

 _Memories are the most efficient method of recall in comparison to other forms of transport, since they are linked to an emotion. The more emotional a scene, the easier it is to recall it from Long Term Memory. (See page 277.) If a memory is important enough, it can come as a Core Memory instead. (See page 455.)_

 _If you experience problems creating memories, the Mind Space may default to using Facts and Opinions as the normal method of informative travel. (See The Factual Mind Manual, Vol. 2, page 13.) Please attempt to restart the memory making process as soon as possible. (To see a list of possible problems, turn to Appendix II.)_

He flipped the page, and continued reading.

If he was going to do this, he was going to do it one step at a time.

* * *

Disgust peered into the room. It had the look of a lounge that one would use to get away from crowds. A coffee machine stood in one corner, and a couch lay against one wall. It was much darker then she would have suspected, even considering the decrepit state outside. She stepped into the room.

Or she would have, if a blade hadn't been pressed to her throat.

Disgust froze, and stared down the length of the blade at the offending arm.

A Mind Worker stared back at her. It's arm shook slightly. "What are you doing here?" It's voice quavered slightly.

"I… I don't mean any harm! I just didn't know where everyone went!"

The Mind Worker stilled for a second, but the blade started quivering faster. It blinked at her.

Then, it fell on the floor laughing.

Disgust stared down at the purple grape-like figure, trying to figure out what exactly she had done.


	8. (1:2) Human

**(1.2) Human**

* * *

Riley stretched as she awoke, cramped slightly from being in the wrong position for sleeping for most of the bus ride after she had shifted in the middle of the night. She shook her head to clear its grogginess. She sat up and pulled out her phone to check the time.

She still had an hour left in the bus ride.

She could handle that.

The rain began drumming on the roof as she sat back in her seat to wait out the time.

* * *

Joy scooted backwards, despite the pain raging through her head. Her wild eyes flickered about her in panic as her hands scrabbled through the dust. She hit the wall at the back of the road.

The human in front of her looked behind himself, then turned back to look at her. "You know, I really didn't think that I looked that bad."

Joy stared at him. "But- I- You-"

"Yes?"

She blinked. "Who are you?"

"My name's Reynie, not that it matters a bunch. What about you?"

"I…" Joy blinked. "I'm Joy." The words vibrated through her mind, and she hunched again, gasping.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed at her arm. He had barely touched her skin when his aura burst into golden light. He began chuckling.

"You're a silly one. Come on, I'll get you some food."

Joy winced slightly, but he hauled her to her feet. She started to walk with him out of the alley.

* * *

Riley dismounted from the bus and shrugged her backpack farther onto her shoulders. Her feet splashed into a puddle as she dismounted the bus's stairwell. The wind cut through her thin hoodie, and she pulled up the hood to try and counter the pulsing cold and drizzling rain.

She huddled under the bus stop, and watched as the bus pulled away in a puff of smoke. The rain that had collected on top blew off the top of the bus in a short shower. Riley shivered a little, looked left and right, and took a seat on the bench, rubbing her hands together.

 _I need a plan._

Riley pulled the backpack from her back and rifled through it, organizing its contents on the bench seat beside her. A cell phone, a sleeping bag, three books, a debit card, and a spare change of clothes sat on the wooden bench.

 _Argh! I didn't even bring any food._ Or _extract money before I left. I'm an idiot._

Her hands clenched slightly, but let go quickly.

 _Well, I guess the first step is getting some cash. I need to do that as soon as possible before Mom notices that it's gone and I can't get any more. Then, I can get some food._

She stuffed everything back in her backpack, snatched the debit card off the bench and walked towards the center of town through the sprinkling rain.

* * *

Joy's eyes flicked left and right as she was half dragged out of the alley and onto a street. People were wandering about, glowing different colors. Reynie, whose own aura was burned into her brain, was still chuckling slightly.

As they walked through a crowded portion, a red aura'd person knocked into her, and a small amount of gold rippled out from the spot where they touched. She tried to continue watching him, but when she turned her head, the pain spiked. She winced.

Reynie guided them off of the street and into a cafe. The bell over the door jangled, and the glass door shut behind them.

They walked across the room, and he helped her slide onto a cloth seat. Joy lay down her head on the table and stared out into the cafe. She shut her eyes and tried to shut out the pain.

She gave a little chuckle.

 _When I said that I wanted more time to become better, I didn't mean like this._

Her head throbbed, and she winced.

 _At all._

* * *

Riley pulled the cash she had just extracted from the ATM, all five-hundred dollars of it, and stuffed it into her backpack. Flipping her backpack back over her shoulder, she ducked around the wall and walked into the rest of the corner store.

 _I'm going to want a lot of fast snacks. Trail mix is good._

She pulled a bag off of the shelf and snuck to the back of the store, where she grabbed a bottle of water. Then, she paused.

 _I don't have the cash to pay for too much if I want it to last._

Her eyes flicked back and forth, and she noticed a security camera in the upper corner. She looked about, noting the cashier was sitting and looking at his phone, and went into one of the aisles. She ducked down as if to grab a snack, and slipped several pieces of food surreptitiously into her backpack. She stood back up and walked to the register with her bottle of water.

* * *

Unbeknownst to her, Headquarters rumbled.

* * *

Joy's nose twitched. She wasn't sure quite what that smell was - she hadn't had a real need to smell anything as an emotion, after all - but she immediately knew that she wanted some of whatever was making it.

Her eyes blinked open, and she sat up as much as she could. Her head protested, but she propped herself up on one arm and looked around blearily.

In front of her was a plate. She knew that what was on it was bacon and eggs, but only because she had seen Riley eat them before.

Reynie was sitting across from her. "They're yours. I got them for you." He scooted the plate closer to her.

Tentatively, she reached out a hand and grasped a fork. She took it and looked at it this way and that. "I… uh…"

Reynie rolled his eyes, and Joy could see a flicker of green flashing over his aura. "Take fork. Apply to food. Bring to mouth."

Joy lowered the fork to the eggs slowly, and applied some pressure so that a piece broke off. It crackled slightly. She stabbed the piece, and it came up with her fork. She tilted her head, and put the piece in her mouth.

It was… warm. And… well, she didn't exactly have anything to compare it to, but she thought it was tasty. And greasy. She swallowed.

She could feel it slightly, going down away from her mouth. Joy remembered learning a little bit of human biology from Riley's science class, and knew that the food was going into her stomach.

She blinked. Her... stomach rumbled.

Reynie cracked a smile, and pushed the plate closer.

She smiled back at him, and lowered her fork to take another bite.

* * *

Inspector Chandler was worried.

He hadn't had a missing child in several months - pretty good for a large city like San Francisco. He knew that he should have expected something to go wrong for someone.

The subject had moved here just three days ago, and went missing yesterday. She most likely ran away, since all her stuff was packed up from her room. He looked down at his desk, where he had put pictures of his subject, Riley Andersen.

She had been happy, and had no real reason to leave. Her parents hadn't noticed anything unusual, except for a single fight the night before. There was something off about this whole thing.

He just wasn't sure what.

All he knew was that he was going to find out.


	9. Interlude I: Dark

**Interlude I: Dark**

* * *

Joy wasn't quite sure when his and the doctor's goals had aligned. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was destiny.

Maybe it was just because he was in his brain and influenced his decisions.

...

Nah, it was probably the other two.

He looked down at the enormous charred panel in front of him and twisted a knob.

* * *

Doctor Lyre turned the knob on his dimensional oscillation detector two ticks to the left, and set it down on the table. The panel on the front flickered slightly, but mostly stayed silent. He twisted around in his swivel chair and pulled open his files for comparison.

He wasn't quite sure what he would find when he had gone into Quantum Mechanics as a Major, but what he had found, no one believed.

 _Alternate dimensions were real._

He had the math.

 _There was one connected to this one._

Everything pointed to it.

 _It was related to humanity._

But everyone he had told had put it off as idle speculation.

He just didn't know _why_.

It seemed logical to him. Why couldn't others accept it?

Behind him, his monitor beeped. He twisted around and slid over to it. He glanced down at the screen.

He blinked.

These were the exact results he predicted would occur from Multiversal Tampering. It was even staying the same. He picked up the machine and wiggled it around. The number stayed constant.

He started fiddling with the machine and grinned.

He was going to figure out where the signature came from, no matter what the cost.

* * *

They were finally making progress!

Joy watched as the doctor's hands danced over the controls. Joy reached out and fiddled with the console for just a moment causing a sickly pulse of yellow before sitting back. Induction could deal with this.

A glowing light bulb centered in the middle of the dais glowed brighter.

Joy, alone against the backdrop of darkness, smirked.

* * *

 **I know I said I would do Author's Notes at the ends of Arcs, but that's not for a couple more chapters, and I wanted to say a few things.**

 **I'm happy with the response I'm getting for this thing. It's really just me going - "Aha!" - and then writing down stuff. So, to that end, all the Guests that have been quantifying all the questions I need to answer have been really helpful. I have basic outlines of how the stuff works in my brain, I just haven't written it yet.**

 **For everyone who has been requesting certain scenes - this is written in 'mostly' chronological order. When something exciting happens to those characters, I'll let you know by writing about them. (But I'm also not going to just leave them in the lurch.)**

 **You've probably noticed by now that I'm on a sort of once a day schedule right now. This is mostly because I'm super excited about this idea. I don't really have the time to continue this schedule, though. It'll probably shift to once or twice a week within the next couple of chapters. (Real life takes precedence, even if it's really boring.)**


	10. (1:3) Afraid

**I had some guests ask a few questions I wanted to address:**

 **What does Joy look like?  
** **She looks almost the same as she does as an emotion - just nix the glow and give her a slightly more human body type.**

 **How long is this going to be?  
** **I don't really know. Considering current chapter lengths, lots of chapters.**

 **What happened during the Interlude?  
** **To be very clear: The Joy in the Interlude is not the Joy from Riley's mind. He is a he, and is Doctor Lyre's Joy. Also, I was trying to imply that Lyre was… well… mentally unbalanced? I mean, he obviously has some problems in his Mind Space. I'll leave it to you to figure out what they are.**

 **What are the 'auras' around the humans? Are they emotions too?  
Joy doesn't have an aura as far as she can tell, so no, they aren't emotions. Instead, Joy is seeing [spoilers.] (Give it a few chapters.)**

* * *

 **(1.3) Afraid**

* * *

Disgust was not happy. Her foot tapped on the floor as she regarded the Mind Worker that was currently laughing and rolling around on the ground. His blade, which turned out to be one of the (fairly dull) prop pieces, had landed on the floor with a clatter.

As the laughter wound down, she crossed her arms. The Mind Worker gave a few last giggles and sat up. "I'm sorry, it's just… *snicker* you're the worst fear I've ever seen."

Disgust blinked. "What? I'm not Fear, I'm Disgust."

"I know. I'm pretty sure you're not a fear. Just give me a second." The Mind Worker gazed her up and down critically. "Yeah, you're not."

"Well, thanks. Don't take my word for it." Disgust flipped her hair.

"Well, who are you?"

Disgust rolled her eyes. "I already told you. I'm Disgust."

The Mind Worker scratched his head. "It's not ringing a bell. What's your standard role?"

"What?"

"Are you from Dream Productions?"

"Uh… no." Disgust wrinkled her brow. "Is that bad?"

"How long ago were you out there?" The Mind Worker gazed at her. "Was it from the past day or so?"

"Yes. Why?"

"How were you not killed? It's suicide out there!" The Mind Worker was waving his hands wildly.

"It seemed pretty normal to me… except for the fact that there is not a single person outside." Disgust looked behind her through the door. "What's up out there, anyway?"

"You… you're the luckiest person I've ever met, then." The Mind Worker rubbed at his forehead. "Look, a couple of complete idiots came through yesterday and decided to wake Riley up early. To do it, they smashed the door to the Subconscious open. So, now, there's a bunch of things Riley's afraid of running about Dream Productions. We can't even turn on our cameras for fear of one of them showing up in the middle of the recording."

"A couple of complete idiots? What did they look like?"

The Mind Worker deadpanned. "That's what you got from that speech?"

"Well, I am in the middle of a hunt for my co-workers."

"Your co-workers, huh?" He sighed. "Fine. One of them is golden, kind of sparkly, and a bit taller than you." Disgust nodded to herself. "One was shorter than you, and blue." Disgust smiled. It was them! "The last one was pink, had a trunk, and was a taller than the yellow one."

Disgust blinked. "What?"

"Looked sort of like an elephant? Had a bushy tail?"

"I… don't know him." Disgust scratched her head. "I can't help but feel that I have, though."

The Mind Worker shrugged. "Well… I wouldn't advize going out there anytime soon until we fix this mess."

Disgust looked out of the door. "Why? I mean-"

She blinked. Then, she slammed the door shut.

"You're right. Not going out there."

The Mind Worker walked towards the window. "Why? What's- oh, yeah. The broccoli parade is low priority compared to some of the other ones. Not as destructive, you know?"

Disgust huddled, pushing against the door to try and ward off the evils outside.

The Mind Worker rolled his eyes. "Look, I'll get you somewhere safe if you're willing to help us."

Disgust nodded rapidly.

* * *

Anger watched as Riley splashed into a puddle as she dismounted the bus.

They were finally here.

He gave a snarl, and went over to the glowing bulb that was sunk into the console. "You can come out now."

He started to tap on it and twist it in an attempt to dislodge it.

It finally sprang out of the slot - and slammed him in the face.

He growled, took the offending bulb, and smashed it on the ground. "You are not coming back." He took his foot and ground the shards into a powder.

He took back his seat at the console.

* * *

Fear flipped the page in his mind manual and scanned down the page before shutting the book and rubbing at his eyes.

 _"See? You haven't even found anything."_ The voice echoed in his mind. Fear grimaced.

 _On the contrary._

 _"What? You can't tell me looking through that useless thing was actually helpful."_

 _It was helpful. But that's besides the point._

 _"Then what is?"_

Fear took a deep breath. _You want to know what I know?_ _I know that you're scared._

 _"Am not!"_ The voice was quick to reply.

 _You are. I can tell. It's my_ job _._ Fear clenched his fist in nervousness.

 _"I am not! Being afraid is not logical!"_ The voice was slightly flustered.

Fear leaned in. _Then why are you so nervous?_

 _"I'm not!"_ It was bordering on panicked now.

Fear closed his eyes. _I beg to differ._

He waited.

The voice was silent.

Fear gave the voice another moment, then gave a victorious smile. He cracked open his book and once again began to read.

* * *

Sadness, having just condensed from the aether, blinked. She could see Bing Bong, who had just taken a step towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" The static and fuzziness in the noise was gone.

"I…" Sadness wasn't quite sure. She felt like something was missing, but at the same time like something new had been added in. They didn't replace each other, but she still felt complete... somehow. She settled for a moderate response. "I'm fine."

"Great! It worked!" Bing Bong picked her up and squeezed her in a hug. "That was amazing!"

Sadness leaned on his chest. "It was?"

"Yeah! I've never seen anything like it. You were all whoosh and flames and wind. It was awesome!" He put her back on the ground.

She blinked. "Well, I may have just become a Daydream, but I-" she yawned, "-am exhausted."

Bing Bong nodded. "I think we have a little time." He looked about, and spotted the Librarian. "Hey! Can we stay here for a little bit to recover?"

The Librarian was staring around the messy room, at which she shook her head. "That's fine. I have to clean up this mess." She made a knuckle cracking motion, but with no actual knuckles to crack, no noise came. "There's a bedroom in the back right."

Sadness stumbled towards the aforementioned location as the Librarian began picking up the place behind her at top speed. She looked up at Bing Bong.

"Thanks for helping me with that. I… I'm not sure I would have made it out without your advice."

Bing Bong smiled at her. "You're helping me see Riley again. It's the least I could do."

Sadness opened the door, and turned as she was entering. "You've… really been helpful. Can you wake me up in a hour or two?"

Bing Bong nodded, and Sadness closed the door.

* * *

Joy was feeling much better. Her headache had abated enough for her to have a normal conversation. It had only taken four orders of eggs, two plates of pancakes, and a slice of breakfast pizza.

She looked over at Reynie.

He was sitting across from her and had his hands folded on the table. "So… what were you even doing in that alley?"

Joy cringed slightly. "It's… a long story."

Reynie leaned in. "I've got time."

"I'm not really sure you'd understand. I mean, I don't understand."

"Well, maybe I can help." Reynie tilted his head. "Can you at least try?"

"I… I guess." Joy looked down. "Just don't call me crazy, okay?"

"I won't."

"Here it goes then." She took a breath. "It all started when Riley moved to San Francisco…"


	11. (1:4) Defense

**(1:4)** **Defense**

* * *

As Joy began to explain the inner workings of the Mind Space, Reynie's aura began to burn a brilliant lavender.

"...so, there's these things called Core Memories, and they basically - are you okay?" Joy looked at Reynie inquisitively. He didn't seem to be paying attention to her, his eyes glazed over slightly. "Reynie?" Joy waved a hand in front of his face.

"I…" He blinked. "What?"

"Are… are you okay?"

"Um… who… who are you again?"

Joy had a sinking feeling. "I'm Joy. You just bought me breakfast?"

His eyes were flickering back and forth. "I did? I don't… I can't…"

Joy looked around, and then glanced back at Reynie. "Look… I can't stay. I would help, but I'm not on the inside, so I can't fix it."

He looked extremely confused, his purple aura pulsing. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

Joy strode out of the diner.

* * *

Riley sat on the swing, pushing herself back and forth and shivering slightly. Some of the rain from the previous drizzling dripped onto her hood.

She… wasn't quite sure what to do.

She needed to find shelter, but she couldn't use her old house - someone had already started to move in, and she didn't feel like getting caught.

She pulled her arms a little closer.

* * *

Anger hated seeing Riley so… well, she wasn't exactly melancholy, or miserable. She was too objective for that. But he still wanted to get her out of the rain.

He looked over the control panel, and slammed his hands over some of the buttons in frustration.

He was tired of being alone. He was tired of making all the decisions. He was tired of being out of options.

He wanted to _do_ something again.

His eyes flickered down to the idea slot.

He gave a smile.

* * *

Disgust followed the Mind Worker as closely as she could. He had taken her down a staircase at the back of the lounge into a dark and - *shudder* - _dripping_ tunnel. She looked back and forth.

"Why do you even have this thing, anyway?"

The Mind Worker looked back for a second to reply. "We do some of our filming down here. Have you ever seen on of those 'I'm trapped in a cave' dreams?"

Disgust shivered slightly. "I didn't like that one all that much."

The Mind Worker shrugged. "Well, our job is just to let Riley sort through her day. If it's in the script, it's in the script. Not my fault that you didn't like it."

As the tunnel wound around a corner, Disgust asked, "When has Riley ever been in a creepy cave?"

The Mind Worker rolled his eyes. "It's more abstract than that. When has Riley gone skydiving either? Generally, abandonment, loneliness, failure, and other things that come from Abstract Thought guide what kind of film we create or rerun that night." As they ducked under a low hanging bit, the Mind Worker continued. "You have to remember that there's more than just us in this mind. A lot of our props come from Imagination Land, and Long Term provides a lot of the memories from the day that we can use."

Disgust shuddered at a pile of slime on one side of the walkway, and carefully stepped around it. "And one of those places is the Subconscious?"

"Yeah." The Mind Worker nodded. "We actually use some of the fears from there for the occasional dream. We try to keep it to a minimum, but sometimes it's for the best, you know?"

"But… wouldn't it be better to never do that at all?"

The Mind Worker sighed. "Look. If it exists in Riley's Mind Space, it's important for her to have. Everyone here has a purpose, and just because you don't know what it is, or understand why they have to do it, doesn't mean that you should shun them for it."

"But those are Riley's fears! Those things she never really wants to think about in the first place!"

"Yes. But if she didn't have those fears, and she never remembered them, how would she know to be afraid of them?"

Disgust opened her mouth to retort, then closed it. They rounded a corner, and came upon a set of stairs.

"We're almost there," the Mind Worker called back. They stumbled up to a door set into the cave wall.

The Mind Worker pushed the door open.

* * *

Anger shuffled through the piles of ideas.

"No, we're not going to find a cardboard box. And we're not sneaking into our old house - that'd be awful. Come on, I know it's in here somewhere. It's- aha!" He pulled out the bulb with a flourish. "I knew it!"

He walked back over to the console and looked at the idea. "You'd better work."

The glass glimmered as he slid the base into the slot. His fingers crossed behind his back.

The light stalled for a moment, the flickered to life.

* * *

Riley was rubbing hands over her arms when an idea slowly seeped into her mind.

She stood up and grabbed her backpack, already walking before the idea had fully formed in her mind.

* * *

Anger watched as the idea glowed brighter.

* * *

Reynie stared down at the table. Several plates that obviously used to be full of food were off to his left. His eyes flickered to the door that had just shut with a clang from the bell over the frame. He looked down at his hands.

What had happened?

* * *

Reynie's Fear was _not_ having a good day. In fact, he was willing to say that it was the worst day he had ever had.

"You know we can't let him know about us!"

It was mostly because he kept getting ripped at verbally by Joy.

"Why not?" Reynie's Joy was nailing Fear. "You put his memories _into the dump!_ You don't just do that!"

"He _can't know!"_

"Well now he's just going to dredge up the Facts from Inductive Reasoning! Dumping the Memories didn't help at all!"

"Without the initial emotion to run off, the Facts break down faster!"

Joy flung her hand out towards a overhang with a window over a vista. Her finger pointed at a large mass of land attached to their tower by a string. "He has Curiosity Island for a reason, Fear! He's not going to stop trying to find out what happened!"

"Well, you know what, I want to know too! But I also know that that is _dangerous!_ "

Joy ran a hand through his hair. "You… I…" She sighed. "Don't blame me if this blows up in your face."

She turned and walked over to the console, her head hanging slightly.

Fear was left with a feeling of foreboding.

* * *

Sadness's eyes blinked open to a pink trunk poking her.

A pink smiling face beamed down at her. "I think we need to get moving." It placed a pair of glasses on her face, and she saw Bing Bong, offering a paw. "Are you ready to go?"

Sadness grabbed the offered hand, and was yanked to her feet. "I definitely feel better."

Bing Bong grinned. "Then let's go! I can't wait to see Riley!"

He turned and ducked out of the door.

As she stumbled over the doorframe following him, the Librarian came up next to her. She pressed something into her hand and started to speak.

"This is your friend's Daydream. Keep it safe."

As she turned and walked away, Sadness couldn't help but feel she was drastically underprepared.


	12. (1:5) Portent

**(1:5) Portent**

* * *

Disgust blinked at the bright light for a second, her eyes adjusting. As her pupils shrank from the influx of light, she looked around the Mind Worker and into the room beyond.

A fairly crowded room greeted her. Many Mind Workers of various colors were wandering around, putting away random prop pieces, which varied from random clothing like eyepatches, dresses, and another one of those gross sheep wools, to a model car and a pair of functional wings. Various pieces of equipment for filming were off in one corner, and a group of figures that Disgust recognized from various dreams were sitting around a short table in another. The ceiling blocked off high above her head, and electric lights swayed slightly for illumination.

Her guide moved towards a small group of Mind Workers sitting in a circle of chairs, and Disgust followed. She watched as the Mind Worker pulled up a chair.

"So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

One member of the group nodded. "There was an attack on the front door just an hour ago."

Disgust's guide sighed. "They're getting bolder."

Disgust leaned on the back of the chair in front of her. "So… what kind of fears are you dealing with here?"

"Well, it's mostly the ones that can actually get out of the subconscious," said one of the Mind Workers, a green one, on the other side of the circle. "Jangles has been around wreaking things, and grandma's vacuum has been causing trouble."

"So you need to get them back in the Subconscious?"

"That's the goal," stated one of the Mind Workers that looked like a policeman.

Disgust's eyes flickered over the rest of the room, touching upon many different objects and persons before coming back to rest on her guide. A plan formed in her mind. She smiled. "I _might_ have an idea…"

* * *

Inspector Chandler strolled through the gate into the middle school with a confident air. As the gate creaked shut behind him, he walked through the empty grounds and up to the front door.

He hadn't had cause to be at this particular middle school before, so he looked down the halls with a modicum of interest. Random paraphernalia bedecked the walls that weren't filled with lockers. Muted voices came through the doors on either side as he strolled up to a staircase and began to climb. He could see the students through the windows on the doors, most of which looked slightly bored.

He came up to the third floor and turned the corner, walking over to a door in the wall with a bench beside it. He knocked politely.

"Come in!" a voice from inside shouted through the door.

His eye caught on a brass sign by the entrance.

He grasped the handle, pushed the door open, and walked inside of Principal Hill's office.

* * *

Reynie slowly pushed himself out of the booth and looked back and forth. His hand rubbed against his forehead as he tried not to wince. He somehow had both _completely forgotten_ a conversation with a girl he had bought breakfast, and gotten a headache in the process. He shook his head to clear it, and walked towards the door of the diner.

The bell jangled as he pushed the door open and walked into the street, the busy traffic hammering its beat into his brain.

He stumbled down the street towards his apartment.

* * *

Inspector Chandler looked at the man across the room from him. He was looking over several sheets of paper on a desk, obviously not quite paying attention. The man looked up.

The Inspector walked over to the desk and held out his hand. "Hello. Principle Hill, I presume?"

The man stood up from his swivel chair and grasped his hand. "Yes. And you are…" - he looked down at his sheets - "Bryan Chandler?"

"Inspector Chandler, if you would." The Inspector dropped the principal's hand. "I'm here to learn about one of your more recent students."

"Recent?" The principal looked slightly confused. "What's happened?"

"In theory, she ran away." The Inspector leaned in. "I need everything you have on a certain Riley Andersen."

* * *

Sadness groaned as she stumbled down another step. The wooden stairs creaked under her feet as she leaned on the glass rail on her left. The wood gave way to metal as she continued down the lengthy staircase.

Bing Bong was bounding down the stairs in front of her, landing with a thump on one of the coral stepping stones. "Come on! We're almost there!"

Sadness looked over the edge of the last stair and over the salty water. She reached out her stubby foot and just managed to hook it over the edge of the hard shell. Pushing off from the stair behind her, she gripped the rough side of the exposed organism, pulling herself up.

As she stood on top of the rounded coral, the building _warped_ and the water in front of her dropped out of the sky. She peeked over the edge of the newfound technological floating disc, and saw a gaping pit. She shuddered slightly, and looked up.

The next floating panel floated closer, and she pushed herself up, stepping over the shortening gap. The metallic blue gleamed under her feet as the mechanical imagining floated over to the other side of the pit.

"I've got you." Bing Bong reached a hand down, and she grasped it. He began to pull her up-

The building _warped._

Sadness watched as Bing Bong's sandstone cliff vanished and a tree grew around her. As gravity once again took hold, her hand gripped her friend's hand tighter. Her stomach fell with a thump onto the tree house that had taken shape, and her hands scrabbled at Bing Bong's, trying to keep him from falling. "Bing Bong!"

The noise assaulted her ears - he was panicking, his voice ricocheting against the crystal wall across the pit of lava. "No, no no no, Sadness!"

Her tiny hands gripped his giant pink ones, and she groaned as pieces she didn't know she had stretched against the weight. Her feet dug into the wooden slats behind her, stopping her from falling into the pit. His hand gripped tighter, and his eyes met hers.

His fur started to slip through her fingers…

There was a rush of wind.

* * *

Joy shivered the wind cut through her dress. She scrunched her legs closer to her chest as she gazed out over the lake. The sun shimmered down, but the cold whipping off of the water kept her chilly under her green dress.

Putting out her hand, she really looked at herself for the first time since she'd arrived. Her skin, instead of glowing like she was used to, didn't even shine like the occasional passerby next to her bench, who varied in color.

Unlike the passersby, however, her hair was a stark blue, and while it didn't glow, it did offer some reassurance that she hadn't lost all of what she looked like. Her hand gripped her green dress slightly tighter.

In a voice so quiet it almost was lost to the wind, she whispered to herself.

"What am I going to do?"

* * *

Riley slowly, but efficiently, plodded down the street. Clouds blocked out the sun, but she still knew that it was about midday based on the beeping her watch had been making. Her sneakers squished against the ground, slightly wet from the rain and puddles. Her face passively neutral, she turned a corner.

 _Five blocks to go…_

* * *

Somewhere inside her Mind Space…

Isolated in a graying light…

A figure grinned.

* * *

 **End of Arc I**

* * *

 **I made it! Had to stay up late, but posted it before the end of the day.**

 **Being sick really sucks.**


	13. (2:0) Solid

**(2:0) Solid**

* * *

 _Bing Bong was falling._

 _As the wind rushed by his fur, he couldn't help but think that this must have been what Joy had felt like._

 _A feeling of cool wrapped around his barrel._

 _His eyes met black._

 _Slamming against something hard, his head cracked with a sound of thunder._

 _His Imagining flickered as he passed into unconsciousness._

* * *

 **In  
Sight**

 **Arc II  
** **Glow  
** **Fault  
** _ **or  
**_ **Deconstruction**

 **Out  
Of  
Mind**

* * *

 _Joy was falling._

 _As the wind rushed by her skin, she couldn't help but think that this must be what Riley felt like every night._

 _A feeling of cool touched her forehead._

 _Her eyes closed on black._

 _Touching against something soft, her head rustled her dress with the sound of grass in the wind._

 _Her eyes flickered as she passed into unconsciousness._


	14. (2:1) Stalk

**(2:1) Stalk**

* * *

Disgust looked down at the map on the table in front of her. She stuck another pin in one of the corners while smoothing it out so that the wrinkles disappeared. Several tiny models of different fears from Riley's subconscious stood at different locations on the parchment, and occasionally glided back and forth over the paper. Disgust traced a line over the parchment with her finger before grabbing a pen off to her left and marking the map with dotted lines behind the moving figures. The black ink gleamed in the candlelight from a candlestick on a far corner of the map.

Across the table from her, her guide from earlier watched for a moment. Then, he rolled his eyes. "I still have no idea why you wanted that candlestick."

"Shush. It adds to the ambiance. You _produce_ dreams, surely you should understand." Disgust glanced over the figures, grabbing a red pen and circling a marker labeled 'Hideout'. "The devil's in the details, after all."

"Yes, but I thought we would want to be a little more efficient than this." The purple Mind Worker thumped his hand down onto the table. "You refused to even start talking until you had a table with a map, and even though we overdelivered and gave you one that let you _see_ where the fears were, you immediately requested a candlestick."

Disgust grinned. "Well, it _is_ my job. Not my fault if you think I nitpick too much."

The Mind Worker grumbled to himself for a moment, and Disgust circled another door labeled 'Subconscious' in red ink. "So what _is_ this mysterious plan of yours?"

Snatching up her black pen again, she continued marking paths behind the fear statuettes. "What do you think that the fears want most?" she asked abruptly.

The Mind Worker blinked. "What?"

"You said it yourself earlier - everything in Riley's Mind Space has a purpose. So, what _is_ their purpose?"

"Uh… well…" The Mind Worker scratched his head. "I'm not entirely sure. I mean, as I said earlier, if they didn't exist, Riley wouldn't know what to be afraid of."

"Exactly!" Disgust made a star at one point on the map where two of the fears had met each other going in opposite directions. "So, their ultimate goal is to try and get Riley to be afraid of them. Unfortunately, they get close to no chances to do this, since they're locked up in the Subconscious."

"Right…"

"So, the reason that they're even bothering to slam on your door is that they're trying to fulfill their purpose - just expressing themselves through their dreams." Disgust softly put down her pen.

"So, they're trying to get into here and get into a film. How is that helpful?" the purple Mind Worker questioned.

"You want to get the fears back in the Subconscious?" Disgust put a finger on a red circle on the map. "You give them what they want."

* * *

 _Joy could feel a pulsing._

 _The metal beneath her fingertips offered a cooling feeling amidst the feel of a beat of a heart. Gold flickered around her in a raging inferno, offering warmth, but not heat. She breathed in, and the pure_ _ **joy**_ _nearly knocked her over, the golden light intensifying in bright flashes._

 _She squinted, trying to see, but the light glared into her eyes. As her eyes flickered closed, she saw a shadowy shape out of the corner of her eye._

 _Her eyes flickered open, and she looked towards it, trying to see it again. It shaded itself more prominently before once again glinting back into light._

 _She set herself, and pushed forwards into the blinding shine._

* * *

Disgust's guide shook his head frantically. "We can't do that! It'll traumatize Riley!"

"No it won't." Disgust's hand flew outwards. "Riley doesn't even have any emotion right now. This is the _perfect_ time to do this."

"But… that…" The purple Mind Worker shook his head again. "We use them in _emergencies only!_ When there isn't any other option, and she needs to sort through her problems about that specific topic!"

"Yes! Exactly! And I'm not saying you should do it more!" Disgust's features hardened. "But you're running out of options! Do you want one night of fear, or no more dreams? _Ever?!_ "

The Mind Worker across the table shrunk back slightly. "And _how_ is giving them what they want going to get them in the Subconscious?"

"You set up the dream capturers _in_ the Subconscious," Disgust said, pointing her finger at said place on the map. "They'll want to go back, and you shut the door on them."

"But… I…" The Mind Worker sighed. "Do we really have a choice?"

"You could always never have Riley dream ever again." Disgust laid her hand out on the map. "Something tells me you don't like that option, though."

"No, I just…" He sighed. "Are you sure this will work?"

Disgust grinned. "Well, as the saying goes, 'Do or do not - there is no try.'"

His groan reached her ears.

* * *

Inspector Chandler flipped another page over the back of his clipboard. Due to the short nature of his subject's stay, there really wasn't much paperwork on her in the school's folder. He spread the papers out over his desk. A copy of a proof of residency, a printed copy of a grade book from her old school, and an enrollment form covered his workspace.

On a desktop next to him, an electronic version of her attendance and grades from her old school appeared onscreen. The yellow line on the attendance graph dipped several times, but all for small tardies. The grades were fairly solid, averaging a B - except in music, in which she apparently 'had no talent' and was no longer required to attend. She apparently did a lot of hockey, based on the extracurricular page, and was on the team.

He put his head in his hands. _Nothing._ All he had was loose strings and disconnected threads to work with. He needed something more _concrete._

The sound of his phone ringing filled the office.

* * *

 **This is a little later then I really wanted, but life hit me with an idea and I was lost. (If you have an account on FIMFiction, look for Times Of Their Lives.)**

 **If you want a shorter way to reference this fic's headcanon, I am officially calling this and any other stories in the same continuity the Emoticaverse.**


	15. (2:2) Scale

**(2:2) Scale**

* * *

 _Bing Bong awoke to the feeling of warmth in his chest, flaring high from a spark into a flame._

 _It grew stronger, pulsing down his limbs. His fingers twitched, sparking with empathy. His trunk flopped from one side of his body to the other, the heat thumping._

 _It touched his head._

Bing Bong gasped, and his eyes flew open.

* * *

Riley looked up at the familiar building in front of her. A drop dripped off her hoodie over her face as she stood still, staring.

The green paint of the structure glistened slightly from the water that had collected on its slats. The metal bars that led up the right side its concrete stairs provided a black contrast against the bush on its neighboring side. A window, closed and locked, offered a view into the house, but the lack of lighting on the far side made it difficult to see anything.

Riley didn't take notice of any of this, instead opting to slowly form a plan. She had no need to examine it.

She had practically spent half her life in this building; after all, her best friend had lived in it.

Now all she had to do was sneak in.

* * *

Bing Bong thrusted himself upwards, coughing violently. His torso almost slammed into Sadness's hands, which had drawn back from over his barrel just in the nick of time. His chest heaved as his lungs tried to draw air.

As his panicked breathing cooled, he had the presence of mind to look over at Sadness. She was clutching something in her hands which she was hastily stowing away before sobbing and giving him a hug. He returned it, curling his arms around her. Her tears splashed against his revitalized limbs like small dashes of paint, darkening them. He pulled her as close as he could against his chest.

That was when a puff of smoke hit him on the head.

Bing Bong froze. Then, he slowly looked up to see what manner of terror the building had thrown at them.

His eyes met a slitted one.

* * *

 _It was a black impression._

 _Joy was absolutely sure it was there, the golden light making the shade stand out from the endless background. As she drew closer, she could see the light warping, curling around, refusing to enter its depth. The sparkling air twisted about, pulling at her arms, trying to draw her back into the light._

 _She pressed forwards in spite of its pressure._

* * *

Bing Bong's eyes widened. "Kyle?"

"I can't believe you," said a rumbling voice. "I left you for two weeks to get away from the chatter, and you immediately started trying to kill yourself." The eye drew back slightly, exposing more of a bescaled face.

"It was an accident!" Bing Bong clutched Sadness tightly. "It's not my fault this building is out to get us."

"Why didn't you _wait_? Honestly, it's not that hard." Another puff of smoke was emitted from his nostril. "I could have just _flown_ you up there if you'd wanted to go."

"But - I - what are you even doing here?" Bing Bong asked, confused. His trunk twisted slightly, curling up.

The voice gave a rumbling chuckle. "It it really _that_ surprising? I haven't seen you curl your trunk like that for years."

Bing Bong crossed his eyes, looking at his trunk. He grumbled, "And I almost had it under control, too." He looked up. "I'm older than you, you know."

"And still not one wit more mature." The face backed up all the way so that Bing Bong could see all of his old friend.

A dragon looked back.

* * *

Anger looked at the projected screen nervously. Unlike before this whole fiasco, he wasn't quite sure what Riley was going to do. He had proffered an Idea, and she had taken it, but it was such a general Idea that he wasn't sure what she was going to do with it.

He glanced at the bulb, steadily lit in its housing.

He leaned forwards onto the console and crossed his fingers as Riley began to walk across the street.

* * *

Kyle twitched his wings, which were wrapped around Bing Bong and Sadness in a protective layer, the red scales reflecting the light with a crimson intensity.

Bing Bong had stopped paying attention to him, and instead had turned to Sadness, who was still crying in his arms. "Sadness, I'm okay. We're both okay."

She sniffled a little. "I know. I know, it's just… I've been gone for so _long…_ "

"Shh… It's okay." Bing Bong rocked her back and forth. "We'll make it through."

Above them, Kyle grinned. "Besides, I can just fly you where you want to go."

Sadness looked up, and sniffled a little, her crying winding down. "Thank you."

"It's no problem, little one." Kyle smiled genuinely. "I don't exactly have much of a different purpose."

* * *

Inspector Chandler picked up the ringing phone and held it to his ear. "What's going on, Phillip?"

The voice came through the speaker. " _We've got a lead. The mom's card is gone from the wallet."_

"Okay…"

" _It just got a hit in their old place of residence in Michigan."_

"She stole a card from her parents, then used it to travel to her old place and get more cash?" The Inspector scratched his head. "Alright. Have you alerted the local police of our missing child?"

" _No. I was just going to."_

"Go ahead. Tell them I'll be up there in a couple of hours." He stood up, grabbing his coat of his chair back.

" _But sir-"_

"What?"

" _Why are you going out there? Just leave it up to the Inspector in Minnesota."_

There was a pause.

"Because it's my obligation."

He put the phone down on the receiver before his correspondent could answer.

* * *

Bing Bong and Sadness stood next to each other, looking up at Kyle. "Are you sure you can carry both of us?" asked Sadness, looking sympathetic.

Kyle snorted. "I was imagined to carry around Riley. I can handle a teardrop and a piece of cotton candy."

"If you're sure…" Sadness said.

"I am." Kyle motioned to Bing Bong. "Give her a lift."

Bing Bong grabbed Sadness and lifted her up so that she could grab onto the spines on top of Kyle's back. She scrambled up.

Bing Bong clambered up his forelimb settling at the grounded end of his neck. He looked up. "Before we go… I have a question."

"Yes?" Sadness looked at him curiously, twisting around from her seat higher on Kyle's neck.

"What happened when I fell?"

There was quiet for a moment, and Sadness's eyes shifted back and forth. "I… um… well… It happened like this…"

* * *

 **Kyle, while not necessarily named that, is canon. (Go look in the movie for him, he's not that hard to find. I'll tell you guys if you really can't figure it out.)**


	16. Interlude II: Connection

**Interlude II: Connection**

* * *

 _Bing Bong was falling._

Sadness watched as he fell away from her, his figure darkening against the light. His body twisted and his hand reached out from the backdrop, the orange light playing around his pink frame.

 _There was a rush of wind._

Sadness was blasted back against the the far wall of the treehouse. Her head slammed against the wood, a cracking noise echoing through her head. She could see a red blur shoot through the air in front of her.

 _Her hand shook, grasping at the splintered wood._

She looked up into the sky, and saw a red shape pulling out of a loop. The orange light from the lava flickered over his red scales. His wings flapped downwards, and he plummeted towards her at the speed of thought.

 _His claws crunched against the wooden platform._

His wings thrust outwards, and his head leaned in. Bing Bong, clutched in his claws, shuddered. "Who are you, and what were you doing with him?"

 _Sadness scootched back, scared slightly from his large form._

"I… it was an accident! His cliff warped into that pit!" Sadness pointed out beyond the outstretched crimson wings. They twitched.

 _The dragon rolled Bing Bong forwards, looking slightly curious._

"He isn't in the best shape. I'm not sure what we're going to do." The dragon looked down at his prone form. "I need something that can jumpstart his Imagining. He's not getting the support he needs from the tower."

 _Sadness blinked._

"Could… could his Daydream do that?" She shyly reached behind her and pulled a shining metallic disc from her pocket. It shimmered all the colors of the rainbow in the orange light.

 _The dragon blinked._

"How do you have that?" He peered down at that. "I've… never really seen it done, but it should."

 _Sadness looked down at the disc._

"I… he wanted me to have it."

 _The dragon smiled._

"You must be a good friend."

 _Sadness held out the daydream._

 _The dragon pushed Bing Bong forwards._

 _..._

 _Connection._

 _..._

 _Bing Bong flared with an inner light._

* * *

 **Look for the very first mention of a daydream in the movie. When the emotions are thinking about their new house, Kyle is on the picture with the castle.**


	17. (2:3) Scherzo

**(2:3) Scherzo**

* * *

Riley climbed over the fence and slid into the nearby shadow. The darkness behind the bush provided some cover, and obscured her body from the windows on the back side of the house. She peeked around the edge of the bush.

A door, closed and locked, was inset into the wall. A small garden lay on the back wall next to it, several metal stalks with tomatoes erected out of the ground. The light rain that had sprinkled down earlier was now almost entirely gone, but the occasional drop still shimmered in the setting sun.

An open window was above the garden, and from it floated several voices and a radio. The song, some kind of classical piece that her dad would have liked, drowned out most of the voices, but she still heard the occasional snippet.

" _...go upstairs to your room, okay?"_

She crept a little closer.

" _But mom! What's wrong?"_

" _Just go up to your room, okay? I promise, it'll be fine."_

The song was the only thing that came through the window until the stomping of feet rang out from a set of stairs.

Riley crept across the lawn and over to the garden, pressing herself against the wall underneath the open window. The tomato stakes in front of her offered her a small amount of cover.

" _What do you mean she ran away?"_

There was a small pause, and Riley poked her head over the window sill. Through it, she could see the kitchen, but more importantly, she could see Mrs. Cameron - Meg's mom. She had a phone held up to her ear.

" _How long ago?"_

She turned, and Riley ducked back down behind the window into the dirt, still keeping one ear cocked up for noises from the kitchen.

" _Yesterday? And they think she's here?"_

A clatter came from the kitchen, along with a muttered apology.

" _Sorry. But they're sure?"_

There was another lapse in the conversation during which the music came through the window.

" _I just feel sorry for her. I mean, what made her run away like that?"_

Riley blinked and clenched her fist, trying to keep her focus. Her mind felt torn, like it wanted to solve two different problems at once.

" _I'm sorry. Look, give me a day and I'll be out there with you."_

She squinched her eyes shut, and the clarity returned. She continued listening to the conversation.

" _It won't be a problem. Sam can take care of Meg."_

Riley knew that Sam was Mr. Cameron, Meg's father. And he… he...

" _I won't take no for an answer. Give me a day to be out there, tops. No arguments."_

Actually, that was all that she could think of. Strange.

" _You're welcome."_

Well, there wasn't time to think about that. She had a house to sneak into.

The phone inside clicked into its holder.

* * *

Inspector Chandler gripped his steering wheel, the classical station on the radio softly playing a song in the background. He roared down the highway, a passable amount over the speed limit. He had to get out to Michigan before the kid knew he was coming.

He just hoped that she would be okay.

* * *

 _Her hand pressed into the darkness. A cold pressure flooded over the appendage, but she could see the individual sparks floating off of her body just like she used to have when she inhabited Riley's Mind Space. Instead of black, it was darkness, a relief from the gold of the outside._

 _She tried to pull her hand back from the black impression._

 _The darkness only sucked her in further._

* * *

Bing Bong tilted his head at her. "You restarted my Imagining... using my Daydream?"

Sadness nodded. "That's about the gist of it, yes."

Kyle rumbled in the background. "Did it expertly too. You have a good choice in friends."

Sadness blushed slightly. "Well, I didn't want him to die."

"Nor should you have." Kyle's wings fluttered besides them, his joints twisting.

"Riley watched a TV show one time in which someone had a heart attack." Sadness shrugged. "They used a defibrillator to restart their heart. I just… made a guess that I could do something similar." She shuddered. "It was a really close call."

Kyle nodded. "You shouldn't do that next time, my friend."

Bing Bong nodded. "I'll try."

Kyle grinned. "You didn't _try_ this time."

Bing Bong rolled his eyes in response. "Fine. I'll try not to."

"Much better."

* * *

Anger tapped at his chin as he watched through the projection, sitting back in his chair situated next to the console. To be quite honest, this wasn't a particularly bad move for Riley to make. Maybe if she spoke to Meg, it would shake up the world in here.

He sat back and waited for Riley to sneak in as the classical piece blared through the speakers.

* * *

A classical piece was playing on the radio - a scherzo, if he didn't miss his mark. A fitting sound, given how close he was to triumph.

Professor Lyre looked down at his instrument and pulled the detection lever farther back a notch. A button press later, the readings became more comprehensible, and he scrutinized the words with a careful intensity.

* * *

Inside his mind, his Joy shifted a few more levers to give the doctor a better idea of what to do with the readings. A metal card popped up out of a slot in the black monolith of a control panel, and he picked it up.

He looked at it, and gave it a grin. Then, he slotted the domino back into the console, a slot to the left. It was sucked away.

He pushed a button far to the left.

* * *

Lyre jolted suddenly. The disturbance… he knew where it was, on an instinctual level. He blinked for a second and shook his head before opening up the briefcase in his right hand and storing away the device. He closed and locked the metal box before standing up and walking purposefully towards the other end of the street.

As the lights and sounds of New Orleans called out around him, he grinned. The sound of music drummed against his ears, a light, playful tune that contrasted his dark thoughts.

He had somewhere to be, and he had best be on time.

* * *

 **Updated at the last possible second. Hah! Take that!**

 **At any rate, got demolished this weekend on my Fimfic account with ideas (nearly 5k words worth), so whipped up this chapter essentially just as I'm posting this. (To be honest, this is one of the reasons I'm trying to keep to a strict schedule - otherwise, I would end up with way too many half completed projects.)**

 **In other news, I'm going to try to post a chapter for my other, sparsely updated IO fic Antidepressant before the end of December, if any of you are interested in that.**


	18. (2:4) Scar

**(2:4) Scar**

* * *

As the footsteps faded away upstairs, Riley popped her head over the windowsill. She could see the kitchen inside, totally empty. Her hand gripped the sill, and she waited for several more seconds to make sure that no one was coming back down the stairs. Then, she pushed one leg over the sill and ducked under the window, sliding into the house.

Inside the kitchen, she looked about for a moment. As she gazed around, she automatically looked for anything that might be useful that wouldn't be lost when she took it. Her gaze locked on a plate of cookies on the table in the middle of the room. She leaned over and took one, putting into the pocket of her hoodie.

The creaking from upstairs grew louder for a moment before quieting. Riley froze, unsure how to take it. Her mind called up an image of this house, and she blinked. There was only one way upstairs, and one of the people she had to stay away from was up there - Meg's mom, Emily. She knew that Emily would be in her room, but she could come out at any time. Meg's room was closer, but the chance that Emily would come out of her room or Meg being absurdly loud when she came in was too high.

Riley thought for a moment, trying to think of anything else that could help her.

One thing that she could remember about Meg was that she had always liked to read, and had done so in much of her spare time that was not devoted to being with her. Riley had never quite had the same gusto as Meg, but she had read the occasional piece of fiction.

They had played some games with a couple of the ideas they had gleaned from those texts. After reading a spy novel, they had tried to make their own secret code. It hadn't worked very well, but it was translatable. It was a simple letter cypher where you shifted the alphabet a certain number of letters to the left based on a number at the top of the page.

Her eyes darted around the kitchen and landed on the papers and pens strewn over the table. She snatched them up, looked back and forth for a moment, and went back over to the window. Throwing her leg over the sill, she slid back into the garden. The dirt pressed against her shoes, and she ducked down out of view of the window.

She pressed the paper against the wall of the house and took her pen and began to scrawl on it in her curly script. Her message was penned onto the sheet.

* * *

 _3_

 _Phj,_

 _Frph rxwvlgh dv vrrq dv srvvleoh. L qhhg wr wdon wr brx._

 _Grq'w whoo brxu prp._

* * *

She stuffed the pen back in her backpack and nodded, satisfied with her handiwork. She took the paper and folded it up, taking it and wrapping it around her pen and pinning it under its clip. Taking it in her hand, she looked up the side of the house.

Up on the top, Meg's window was open. She walked out back, being careful to have a place to hide, locating herself behind a bush. She pulled her hand back, the pen and paper resting in it…

...and threw.

* * *

Of all the things that Meg was expecting, a pen hitting her in the head was _not_ one of them.

She glared down at the offending object, scooping it up and looking questioningly at the window. She walked over and looked outside, but as far as she could tell, it was perfectly normal. Turning around, she sat down on her bed and looked at the pen.

After turning it in her hands for a moment, she felt the paper pinned under its clip and pulled it out, the parchment crinkling. Unfolding it, she spread it on her desk.

She blinked.

Grabbing the pen and a new sheet of paper, she hastily began to translate, one letter at a time being scrawled onto the fresh sheet. As she penned the last letter, she looked over the message once before ducking out her doorway and taking the stairs two at a time. The back door crashed open as she skidded out onto the grass.

Meg skidded out into the small lawn, her eyes glancing around rapidly. "Riley? I know you're out here."

A small voice came from over the fence. "Over here!"

Meg looked around, and started to walk towards the fence. "Riley?" Her head peeped over. "What are you-"

"Shh!" Riley was staring up at her. She looked… it was hard to say, really, but she seemed a mixture of output and serious. "Get over the fence!"

Meg, slightly confused, pushed herself over the fence, some splinters grasping at her clothes as she slid down on the other side. "Why are you here?"

Riley gripped her shoulder. "Are you going to tell your mom?" Her eyes seemed to bore into Meg's who shivered slightly. Riley had _never_ been this serious before - and she had seen her merely four days ago.

"I… I won't unless you want me to." She tilted her head. "Are you alright?"

Riley ran a hand through her hair, and the slightly familiar action cooled Meg's nerves. "I need some sleep. I'm… alright, other than that. Why?" She looked at Meg quizzically.

"You… why are you even here?" Meg put a hand onto the grass. "Aren't you supposed to be in San Francisco?"

Riley's eyes seemed to widen for a second, but for such a short time Meg thought she had imagined it. "No. It's alright, we had to stop."

Meg felt like raising her eyebrow, but quelled the feeling. Her fingers twitched imperceptibly. "Do you want to sleep in my room?"

Riley nodded. "If you don't tell anyone, yes."

Meg gave her a smile. Her hand patted Riley comfortingly on the shoulder. "We can do that."

Inside, however, she felt like screaming.

* * *

Meg's Disgust was very, _very_ worried. "This is _not_ Riley. Riley isn't this serious, Riley wouldn't try to hide something from someone."

Her Fear leaned on the console. "What do you think's happened? Has she been taken by the Body Snatchers? Impressed with a new personality by an evil government?"

Anger rolled her eyes. "That's not even real, you doofus." He gave a grimace. "Something's still wrong, though…"

Meg's Joy slammed her fist into the console, and the other emotions turned to look at her. "We are _not_ panicking. Riley asked us not to tell anyone, and we won't. At the same time, we try to figure out what's wrong with her."

Her Sadness spoke up for a moment. "But… what if she needs help?"

Joy looked at him. "Then we get her some - after we know for certain that's what she needs."

Sadness nodded and looked down. "Okay."

Joy looked back up at the screen. "Everyone - we have to keep up this facade. Get to work."

* * *

Inside Riley's Headquarters, Anger let out a pent up breath. That had gone much better than he had expected. Yes, nothing radical had happened, but at the same time Riley now had a place to sleep. He cracked his knuckles, smiling.

All in a day's work.

* * *

Across the room, Fear flipped another page in his Mind Manual. His eyes quickly scanned over the page, categorizing the information before he flipped the next sheet.

He hadn't read all of them, but he was getting close. There was something there - he knew that if he could find it, he could fix this.

He had to help Disgust, he had to bring back his companions.

There were no more options.

* * *

 **My schedule got screwed over, so everything except this is getting put on hold.**


	19. (2:5) Squall

**(2:5) Squall**

* * *

Disgust sat, looking up at the sky, its blueness spreading out to all of the horizons. Her perch at the top of the dream studio afforded her a view of most of imagination land and the stretch on its far side that was Abstract Thought, leading out into the distance.

The Winds, keening out of the Memory Dump behind her, rushed by her dress. Her hands, clasped before her knees, rubbed together. She leaned back against the metal stand behind her, the small clang being blown away by the flowing wind.

The crunch of gravel behind her caused her to turn and look around her support. Her Guide was standing there, looking slightly apologetic. "She's due to go to sleep within the next twenty minutes or so."

Disgust nodded. "We've got to be in position approximately five minutes before that happens. Got it?"

He nodded. "Will you be down?"

She looked back over the edge of the roof, the ground far from her perch. "Yes. I'll be down in five minutes."

"Thank you." He turned, ready to leave.

She looked over at him, surprised at the lack of a sarcastic response. "You're welcome. I'd do anything for Riley."

He gave her a smile. "I think we all would. We all have a part to play, after all."

Disgust smiled back as he went back down the stairs. Turning her head back forwards, she gave a small smile.

She could fix this. It wouldn't be that hard.

After all, she practically had an army.

* * *

Meg clambered up the stairs, leaving Riley downstairs. At the top of the stair, she took a deep breath and began to walk towards her parent's room.

Unlike her friend, she had always been a skilled liar. She had learned early not to trust Riley with anything resembling a secret - one punishment for stealing an extra cookie was enough for that. It just made this personality shift all the odder. She was obviously hiding something, albeit how big, she wasn't sure. Despite their limited interaction, Meg could tell that she was playing it close to the chest. It only begged the question of how she had gotten back to Minnesota.

Meg wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

She pushed the door to her parent's room open and looked through. Her mom was moving around the room, grabbing clothing and other random necessities out of drawers. She looked up. "What is it, sweetie?"

Meg was slightly confused. "Uh… I was just wondering what you're doing." Behind her, she heard the slight creak of the stair.

"I have to take an emergency vacation." Her mom grabbed more pieces of clothing and drifted into the bathroom, from which her voice echoed slightly.

"Why?" Meg let out her surprise carefully. "You've never had one before."

Her mom came out of the bathroom, a bag in her hand. Meg could tell that she didn't want to tell her, so by pressing the issue, she could extend the conversation. "You know Riley's parents?"

The mention basically confirmed her thoughts, but she replied anyway. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, they need some help out their way." Her mom placed her hand on Meg's shoulder. "I'll be out there for a week or so, alright?"

Meg nodded. "Are you staying until dinner?"

Her mom shook her head. "No. I'll stay until your father gets home, though."

Meg smiled up at her. "Okay. Thanks."

"No problem, sweetie." Her mom turned back around. "Do you mind going downstairs and finding my hat? I want to put it in the suitcase."

Meg nodded, and turned out of the room, closing the door behind her. Her eyes looked around the hall, and she nodded. Riley had made it to her room. She clambered down the stairs to find her mother's hat.

* * *

Sadness could feel the Winds tearing at her face as they winged their way over Imagination Land. Her hands gripped the spine in front of her as hard as she could, her glasses being pressed back onto her face. She shivered slightly from the chill.

They continued to tear through the sky, blazing a trail through the air.

* * *

Riley scooted underneath the bed, making sure to be hidden in case someone came into the room. She was glad that Meg had helped her sneak upstairs. The blanket hung over the side of the bed, obscuring her.

She pulled the cookie she had taken earlier out of her hoodie and took a bite.

* * *

Disgust stood before a small contingent of Mind Workers, standing on a platform above the door, a prop sword belted to her waist where her hand was resting. The blue sky framed her figure through the window behind her. She looked down at the small figures milling about nervously. She could see one group had decked out in full body armor even as another had a pair of wings that fluttered in the small breeze from the air conditioning. She grabbed a megaphone from a table beside her and pressed it to her mouth.

" **Listen Up!** "

The Mind Workers immediately clammed up, looking up at her on the stair.

Disgust lowered the megaphone, trusting in her own substantial lungs to do the job. "We're all here for the same reason - to let Riley have her dreams back!" There was some nods and muttering. "We might look different, we might have conflicting work - but in the end, we are here because we want to help Riley! I don't care if you act, if you direct, or if you get the food setup for the others - if you're here, it's because you were meant to be here!"

* * *

Riley finished the cookie and grabbed a spare blanket, folding it up as a pillow.

* * *

Disgust stepped forwards onto the edge of her platform. "We all have a purpose! It doesn't matter if that purpose is the janitor, or if you have no idea what you're even here for, we are all in this together!"

* * *

Riley lay down on the pillow, her legs curled up near her chest.

* * *

Disgust drew her sword. "And we will succeed in bringing her dreams back!"

* * *

Riley closed her eyes.

* * *

Darkness enveloped the dream studio as the blue sky through the window behind her turned navy.

"Mobilize!"

In front of her, the Mind Workers raised their tools as one. Despite their motley nature, the cameras, swords, and wires looked menacing in the electrically lighted air.

Under her, the Gatekeeper turned his key.

Even as the door crashed open, the Mind Workers roared against the Winds that howled outside as they ran through the gate and into the burgeoning darkness.

Disgust grinned.

* * *

 **Disgust for best general!**


	20. (2:6) Skirmish

**(2:6) Skirmish**

* * *

Disgust followed the crowd of Mind Workers as they wound around different buildings, wires and cables trailing behind them. A dim streetlamp above them flickered for a moment before giving up the fight and going out. The darkness provided some cover, but with such a large crowd, little noises added up, so Disgust was sure that their position was given away. In the end, it didn't matter a ton, since she also knew that the path she had chosen should be mostly empty based on the fear's trend lines. She unrolled her map again, glancing over its pages.

They were trying to avoid the major highway in the middle of Dream Productions, which was easier said than done. Alleys around behind the buildings provided enough space to get from one place to another, but not much else. The camera crew just couldn't fit through the only thing that could have been more convenient - the tunnel underneath that she had entered from. However, while the cameras couldn't fit, the wires could - and that was the genius of the plan. As few Mind Workers as possible had come with her, just carrying the various camera equipments. On another part of the map, however, she could see the other squadron she wasn't following, routing the cables necessary for this venture through the tunnel and up next to the exit.

She rolled up the parchment again before looking up and stuffing it back into her belt pouch. Always one to be particular about her choice of dress, she had decked herself out like a more fashionable version of what one might think an army commander looked like, an army hat perched upon her brow.

She noticed her guide from earlier falling back from the crowd, his police uniform standing out amongst the Mind Workers. She walked closer to his position. "What is it?"

"Are you sure that they won't come through here?" He looked both ways as they passed a junction with another alley. "I mean, they aren't _smart,_ but they aren't _dumb,_ either."

"There's a pretty good chance - there's never a hundred percent, but that's true for any plan." She shrugged. "We should be fine."

There was a small pause. Then, there was a loud chittering, and the mind workers in front of her started to scream.

Disgust looked over at the panic. Pinching her brow, she sighed. "I shouldn't have opened my big mouth, shouldn't I?"

Her Guide nodded, shaking his head. "Yeah. Yeah, you shouldn't have."

* * *

 _The Broccoli weren't quite sure what had tipped them off that the building that they had been patrolling for the last day had emptied. It might have been the slight rumbling, or the strange sense that their prey had left, gone from its usual location._

 _Either way, they were out for some screen time, and they were going to get it._

 _They could feel the Winds as much as anything else in the Mind Space, and they wanted to take their opportunity by the throat._

* * *

Disgust ran towards the screams, her Guide's feet pounding next to her. Her voice rang out in the chaos. "Those with armor, move forwards in a point!" The glints of metal flashed out of the crowd as they complied to her commands. "Remember: keep the Camera Crew at the front of the point behind a buffer!"

Her Guide pulled out one of his batons and plunged forwards into the crowd. Above them, one of the Mind Workers that had equipped themselves with a working pair of wings flew down from the roof towards the front of the crowd. Pushing herself forwards, Disgust wove through the crowd as quickly as she could towards the center of the formation. The Mind Workers around her impeded her movement slightly, but she made it to the front of the throng.

The Camera Crew was pushing their cart forwards slowly at the front. She murmured apologies against the outcry as she climbed up on the rolling cart that was the camera, pushing herself up onto the monstrous piece of equipment to get a better view of the skirmish up ahead. Reaching the summit, she planted her feet and pulled out a pair of binoculars and putting them up to her eyes.

Over the crowd, she saw the last fear that she wanted to conquer making themselves known against the armored forces in front. Her nemeses had grown forwards facing limbs, yes, but it was still the last thing she wanted to see. She shuddered slightly.

The Broccoli were back to haunt her.

* * *

 _The Broccoli knew that their prey was near. It was starting to smell of fear, a pungent odor that attracted them towards it. It was especially strong through the strange metal persons in the front. They started to slam their stubby appendages at the imperious wall all the harder, trying to get through the solid figures even as more of their number were picked off from above._

 _It would have to cave eventually._

* * *

Disgust cowered slightly as the clanging in front of her grew in intensity. She wasn't ready for this. She had expected something bad, but this was the last thing she had wanted to see. She clutched her binoculars a little harder, having long since pulled them from her face.

She had to fix this, somehow. They had to get through the blockade.

There had to be a way. Some way they could get through the horde of green attackers. This wasn't an option - they were Riley's fears, and they had to be locked back up. As long as Riley was afraid of them, they would be there as reminders in the back of her head, and they had to stay that way.

They were fears, things that fed off terror. It wasn't fair to Riley to have them wandering around.

Wait a minute. Fed off terror…

Disgust gulped. Then, she pulled out her sword.

* * *

 _There was something stiffer about the scent of fear emanating from in front of the Broccoli. Their arms flailed against the armor, trying to get through. They could feel the wall starting to cave in._

* * *

Disgust used her sword to clamber down from her perch as quickly as she could, using her sword as a support to balance. Her feet landed on the cobblestones of the roadway with a puff of dust that was blown away in the chaotic scene.

She stood just behind the tip of the formation, looking through the gaps at the attackers. The Broccoli were slamming their stubby arms with brutal force against the defenders.

One of them at the point of the formation slammed its arms at the gap between and managed to push its way through. It skidded forwards to a halt in front of her.

Disgust clenched her fist, ignoring her sweaty palm. "I am _not_ afraid of you." Her voice barely reached her ears, and she winced.

* * *

 _The Broccoli would have laughed if it had had a mouth. The way that the strange green figure in front of it had said it, one would have thought that she was more trying to convince herself then convince it - not that it would have worked, anyhow. It pressed forwards slightly._

* * *

Disgust glared at it and raised her sword slightly. "I am not afraid of you!" Her voice rang out slightly louder amidst the battle.

The Broccoli only walked closer, trying to get at her, and she raised her sword higher and pointed it at her assailant. "I am _not afraid!_ "

* * *

 _The Broccoli stumbled forwards, flailing its arms._

 _Time to put this one to rest._

* * *

"I am _not_ _ **afraid**_ _**of you!**_ "

* * *

 _The Broccoli shivered as they tried to assess the situation._

 _They had never legitimately been told that they were not scary before. They were the epitome of those things that kept you awake at night. They weren't supposed to be rejected, not on their own turf._

 _It… it wasn't a good feeling._

 _Inside the point, one of them reached towards the green figure who had dared to tell them that they weren't good enough._

 _Then, their Imagining stalled, cut off from the beat of Emotica._

 _They had just a moment as they stared into her hardening eyes before they blinked in and out…_

 _...and crumbled to ash._


	21. (2:7) Scene

**(2:7) Scene**

* * *

Fear's eyes shot open, his head jerking up from the open book he had been lying on. His mind still fuzzy from sleep, he didn't quite recognize why he was awake for a moment. When he did, he jerked up suddenly.

"No, no no no!" His hands scrabbled at the papers in front of him, and he pulled a pencil out from behind his ear, placing it onto an empty sheet. His hand shook as the lines traced around in shakey loops and circles.

As the pencil lifted from the sheet, his drawing complete, all he could do was gape.

* * *

Disgust stared at the little piles of ash scattered across the battlefield. They curled up in blue columns of smoke, wisping into the darkness. She could feel the eyes staring at her, both behind and in front, and she curled inwards a little.

She gulped, wincing slightly. "We… we need to go." She sheathed her sword.

Around her, the Mind Workers continued to stare as they began to walk forwards once again, carts rattling on the cobblestones as they rolled. She walked automatically with the crowd, staring straight ahead.

Unbeknownst to her viewers, she felt like something inside her had died.

* * *

"Hey boss! We've got a load from the Indirect Tube!"

"..."

"I know. I just thought it was interesting."

"..."

"Eh, you're right. I've just never seen anything that vibrant from that direction."

"..."

"Alright, I'll stop bothering you. Over and out."

* * *

 _Joy could feel something._

 _The blackness, wrapping around her hand, seemed to mould and shape. Tingles ran over her arm, and she winced as a sharp pain shot through her palm. She clenched her hand inwards._

 _Her hand grabbed something and pressed._

 _She felt a rumbling around her, and she held on a little tighter._

* * *

As Disgust plodded through the dusty alley, someone walked up beside her and cleared their throat. She looked over.

Her Guide was looking at her, as if trying to read the situation. "Are you okay?"

Disgust blinked. "Um… I… yeah."

He shook his head. "No you aren't. What's wrong?"

She looked down. "It… they were just _there_ and then they… they _weren't_. And _I_ did it. They were here for a reason, and I just… I just…" She shuddered for a moment. "They won't be coming back."

Her Guide put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked over at him. "They were going to get through. Sometimes, being the general means making the hard call."

"I know that!" she growled at him, slapping at his hand. "I just don't know _why_! Why did this happen to _us_? Why is this whole place upside down? I don't _know…_ " Her voice caught. "I don't even know why I did it."

Her Guide scratched his head. "But… you were right there."

"No, it was something deeper. She… Riley didn't need them anymore." Disgust clenched her fist. "Riley is breaking down, and I can't… I'm stuck doing small things."

"Sometimes…" Her Guide vacantly down the alley. "Sometimes we have no choices."

Disgust nodded. "I know. I just wish there were more for me to chose."

Their feet continued to hit the pavement as the rattling of their cohorts echoed around them.

* * *

Inspector Chandler put on his blinker as he changed lanes, his car slowing as it left the highway and drifted onto the exit ramp. He clicked the radio off, and the only sound left was the rattling of the car.

He was almost there.

* * *

Reynie was skittering around his room, his backpack in one hand as he shoved random paraphernalia into it. A phone was slipped into his pocket, and he snatched a pile of papers and several writing implements into his bag. Scooting into the foyer, he called out behind him. "Mom! I'm going out, okay?"

He didn't wait for her reply as he shoved the door open and went out onto the street. Her voice called out in affirmation behind him, almost getting lost in the noise of the crowded street.

He may have forgotten, but it was coming back. A short nap had helped things along. Everything was going to be fine.

He jogged down the road despite his raging headache.

* * *

Disgust looked down into the pit that contained the gate to the subconscious. As her Guide had told her earlier during the briefing, the doors had been reinforced to prevent escape. Behind her, her group had started to mingle with the group with the cables, attaching the pieces together.

The pit was empty, all its original inhabitants having left. Her ears perked, she heard the loud clanging as the Fears drew closer, called to the video.

Pulling the binoculars from her eyes, she waved her hand. The first set of Mind Workers descended into the pit, and she followed them closely, a trail of Mind Workers behind her keeping the cable from snagging. The purple rocks only amplified the sounds of their pursuers, and she waved again, letting the rest follow the forerunners down and let the rest scatter.

They set the rolling cart down at the base of the staircase, and she nodded in satisfaction. They were here.

Loud screeching came from above as several Fears looked down over the canyon and directly at them. Disgust looked back in recognition, before encouraging her companions. "Come on! Forwards! Roll the cameras in!"

The Mind Workers pushed against the large rolling cart, and it rolled through the gateway and into the dark.

She followed them in. It was that, or face Riley's worst fears.

Above all else, though, she just didn't want to make another of them disappear.

* * *

Professor Lyre continued to walk towards the disturbance, occasionally pulling out his reader to get another look at the numbers. He knew he was getting closer - something was _off_ nearby. His eyes scanned the crowds, looking about, and he continued down the street until he came off and onto a nearby walking road. He looked up and down the path, trying to see his target.

Then, he saw her.

She was laying on a bench, her blue hair and green dress making her stand out from the black metal. There was something about her that made Lyre feel slightly queasy, but he ignored it. He was finally here!

He didn't notice as his target's fingers clenched at in the darkness within her dreams.


	22. (2:8) Silent

**(2:8) Silent**

* * *

Sadness winced as they landed, a slam racking through her body. The memories on the tall shelves around her glimmered in the darkness, lighting the narrow alleys radiating away from the clearing they were in before spiraling out of sight. Kyle's wing stretched out, and she pushed herself down and away from the spine she was gripping, sliding down his side and onto the ground.

Her feet crunched against the tiny rocks that made up the paths in Long Term as she looked up and down the glowing racks. A thump sounded behind her as Bing Bong hit the ground. "Why did we even come here? I know you asked Kyle, but I'm not sure why. Wouldn't we want to go to Headquarters?"

There was a snort from Kyle. "I can't fly to Headquarters - not unless you want us all to disappear into oblivion. You do _not_ mess with the Winds of Change unless absolutely necessary."

Bing Bong's brow furrowed. "The Winds of Change?"

"You mean you haven't noticed it? They usually start blowing when Riley's mind goes through an overhaul." Kyle snorted. "Not that it's been this major before. It normally isn't noticeable until you're flying, but I'm willing to bet that you can feel it right now."

There was, indeed, a strong breeze blowing through the narrow corridors. It whistled through the cracks between the orbs stacked on the shelves in neat rows. Sadness shivered at its cold touch. "I've read about it before. It makes bits and pieces of the Mind Space easier to break down - we were due for one anyway, based on what I saw before this mess started."

"It also makes it hard to fly over the dump." Kyle scratched his claw on the ground. "No offense, but Headquarters is located in the _worst_ possible place."

"Okay… I get that. But why here?" Bing Bong waved his trunk about. "It's not like there's a whole lot out here."

"I had to look about for a while to find one that was still intact, but there's actually a recall tube back here somewhere." Sadness began to push memories apart from the wall with her hands, her touch causing them to turn from their original gold, red, green, and purple states and into an opaque glowing blue. "There _should_ be a hatch down here somewhere - I mean, I've never actually used one, since they can rework memories when used irresponsibly and when a memory is thrust in for no reason they can get lost."

Bing Bong blinked. "A recall tube? You're planning to put the Daydreams in there?"

Sadness nodded. "That is the idea." Her hand struck a metal disc at the back of the shelf. "Found it!"

* * *

Disgust gulped as the darkness closed in around her, its oppressive nature striking her down to the core. The lights around the cameras shone in front of the Camera Crew, but the blackness that covered the subconscious prevented it from making it too far. There was some shouting ahead.

"Get those cameras into position! Point them down into the cave, but leave us an opening to leave as we shoot!" The Director was shouting at the various crew members. "Get into position!"

Disgust looked back at the doorway, the massive gateway letting the minimal light shine in a rectangle on the floor. There was a small moment of stillness...

...and the light disappeared behind a giant figure.

"Turn them on!" Disgust heard from behind her, the director getting ready to shoot the first, and perhaps last, horror dream of her life.

There was an earth shattering roar.

The cameras were rolling, and there was no going back.

* * *

Riley fidgeted as her mind slowly shifted into a dreaming state.

Meg, who was sitting across the room and making a short list with occasional fervent glances backwards, didn't notice through the blanket blocking her from view.

* * *

Disgust shifted herself backwards as the giant monstrosity stormed into the darkness. Spurts of flame courtesy of a Mind Worker that still had a jetpack on flickered on and off, and the lights began to illuminate various shapes in the dark. The figure stomped down the cave slope, several smaller ones following his trail. Some of them emerged into the light, different fears emerging in front of the camera.

Looking back at the door, she saw that the coast was mostly clear, one or two stragglers going through the tall portal. "Get a move on!" Her voice rang out through the cacophony, and the camera crew began their way backwards, moving around the biggest figure in the room who she tried to ignore.

An echoing roar of "Happy Birthday" behind her didn't help that cause.

* * *

Anger was cowering in his seat, staring up at the screen in horror. This, however, did nothing to stop his indignation. "What kind of absolute garbage is this?" The scary visages were _not_ what Riley needed right now. "What is Dream Productions _doing_?"

* * *

The answer to _that_ question, of course, was being scared out of their wits. The cameras were rolling backwards as fast as they move them, the crowd in front of them having been maneuvered into the back of the cavernous space.

The roar of a vacuum coupled with oppressive darkness and clashing sounds of feet behind her made her want to run all the harder, but she stuck with the Camera Crew as she ground her way through the darkness towards the ever approaching light. The doors, repaired since their original brutal annihilation into a more sturdy set, were manned with Mind Workers ready to close them at a moment's notice.

Disgust finally had enough. "Run! Everyone break for it!" Around her, the sound of scuffling to get away from the horrors behind them began to ensue. "Get everyone out!"

* * *

Sadness pulled open the tiny metal clasp and the recall tube slot opened with a hiss. She reached in her pocket and pulled out Bing Bong's Daydream into the slot. She moved out of the way, and Bing Bong scooted up next to her, carefully pushing hers in next to it.

Her hand reached over and slid the tube shut. There was a whoosh as the Daydreams disappeared up the tube.

* * *

There were roars, claws, and screams. The camera began to sway. Disgust reached up and steadied it, trying to keep it from curving away from the commotion in front of her.

There was a slam behind her, and a Mind Worker, her Guide, grabbed the camera from her, his arms steadying it better than she ever could. "Go! I'll hold it!"

She shook her head. "You need to get out too!"

"It doesn't matter! You need to keep moving!" He glared at her. "You can't even hold the thing properly - just go!"

* * *

Anger heard the clink from behind him, having turned down the dream's volume so that he could, as he put it, just maybe hear himself think. He turned with surprise.

There, laying on the floor, was two tiny discs. He leaned over and scooped them up. A note on one of them came off in his hand.

 _To whomever is in Headquarters right now,_

 _Put these in the console please._

 _Sadness_

He blinked. _Sadness?_ But why would-

Then, he shook his head. It didn't matter why. She was someone he knew he could, if nothing else, trust, and just about anything would be better than this.

* * *

There was a hiss behind Disgust, and she turned, trying to see its source. She was pushed forcefully farther towards the doorway as she did so, and the snake that had been about to bite her missed, lunging past her, her Guide slamming his heel down on its head. She scrambled away and farther into the light-

Hands grabbed at her as she was pulled out of the Subconscious. The metal door began to creak shut before she was even all the way through. The darkness began to close over the cameras, the lights, the fears, and her Guide, still heroically holding the camera in the horrific chaos.

The door shut with a resounding clang.

There was a muffled scream…

...and the roars fell silent.

* * *

Anger slotted the Daydreams into the console…

...and beneath its ashen grey surface, it began to glow slightly blue.

* * *

Riley woke up, her skin matted slightly with sweat. What _had_ that dream been? It was… horrible… and…

She shuddered, and her eyes opened.

A pink, furry face stared back.

 _Never mind,_ she thought. _I must still be dreaming._


	23. (2:9) Splice

**(2:9) Splice**

* * *

Riley blinked. She had the presence of mind not to scream - that would get her discovered, after all - but that did not exempt her from panicking slightly.

The thing had a trunk, pink fur, and seemed to be sort of opaque. Despite this, when she tried to touch him, her hand seemed to meet some sort of resistance. Whatever it was giggled a little.

"Can you not do that? It tickles a little."

It also, apparently, spoke. And had a gravity defying top hat. Seriously, how was that thing staying on his head at this angle?

"Erm… Riley?"

 _And_ it knew her name. Somehow. What _was_ it? She'd never seen anything like it before. Maybe. It did look a little familiar...

"Are you okay?"

Well, whatever it was was being in the way and annoying. Time for action.

She rolled over, closer to the back wall of the room. It felt strange, but her shoulder pressed into the weirdly soft body as she rolled. She could have sworn that he passed straight through the bed as well.

Whatever it was let out a grunt. "Riley? What's wrong?"

Another voice emanated from somewhere above her. It seemed… wilted, or extremely sad, if she had to describe it. "Bing Bong, you know what's wrong. Besides, I doubt she remembers you in her Fact Bank, and the Memory Recall probably isn't working properly anymore."

"Oh." The pink thing, which was apparently named Bing Bong, seemed to droop slightly. "Right."

Riley analyzed the sentence that the voice had spoken for a moment, unsure what to make of it. There were several terms that she filed away for later examination.

Still being as quiet as possible, she looked about for a way to get out from under the bed. Shuffling down to the footrest, she peeked out from under the hanging blanket.

The room was empty - Meg had apparently left at some point. She pushed the cloth out of the way and stood up, the creaks under her feet warning her to be cautious. She turned around.

Bing Bong was currently scooting out from under the bed. _On_ the bed, on the other hand, was another… thing. Unlike the pink one, which looked like someone had taken several animals, smushed them together and added cotton candy, the blue one was much more humanlike. She was wearing a pair of glasses and a sweater.

She shook her head. This was _not_ the time to be hallucinating. Or… maybe she wasn't. She remembered that pinching yourself was a good indicator that you were asleep.

She tried it, grabbing the folds of skin with her nails.

As the pain shot up her arm, she grimaced. That was a bust.

Bing Bong looked at her strangely. "Why did you do that?"

The blue thing on her bed responded as she racked her brain for another explanation. "Ordinarily, pinching yourself is a good indicator whether you're having a dream."

Well… if they weren't hallucinations, since she had no indication that she was crazy so far, then they must be… erm… ghosts! She knew that ghosts were real - there had been a weird show that she saw on TV one time that said so.

The blue one on her bed continued. "By the way, we're what's called a Daydream."

Nope. Not going to trust the strange opaque constructs. Not happening. She turned and scrunched her eyes shut.

She needed to figure out a way to get rid of them. They were preventing her from thinking clearly. The dream she had had left her with a headache as well. She rubbed at her temples.

Why was this so hard?

Inside her mind, however, there was more than a little confusion.

* * *

Anger stared at the screen in disbelief. _What. The. Heck._

He could still remember Riley's old friend, even if she couldn't. The pink face _was_ fairly distinctive, after all. That still didn't answer his question, though, which he voiced very loudly.

"What is Sadness _doing!?_ "

* * *

Inspector Chandler pulled up to the curb in his car, shifting it into park and taking out the key. Clambering out of the car, the door shut behind him with a click as he put the key in his pocket and continued down the street and up to a nearby house. He climbed the stairs one at a time, arriving at the top stoop.

His finger pressed down on the doorbell.

* * *

Of all the things that Meg was expecting, having the doorbell ring was not one of them. Her father never rang the doorbell, preferring to walk straight in. She finished wiping off the dish she had been drying, setting it on the counter with a clack, before calling up the stairs. "Mom! Someone's at the door!"

* * *

Riley jerked up, looking over at the door. Someone _strange_ had come to their door?

That was _not good._ There was an appreciable chance that whoever it was was looking for her. She grabbed her backpack, slipping it over her back. She looked back over the room.

"Riley, where are you going?" The blue thing had cocked its head, and was staring at her. "I don't even know where we are, but - wait a minute." It - she? - was looking around the room. "I know this place. Why are we at Meg's house?"

Riley jerked. It _knew._ It somehow _knew._

That was it. Time to get out of there.

But… if she needed Meg…

She darted over to the computer keyboard and picked up a nearby piece of paper, a pen resting in her hand. If she wanted to get rid of these ghosts, she would have to go somewhere that could deal with them.

She had done a report on ghosts, once. It was nearly two years ago now, not that it made a difference. She still knew the best place to find ghosts - that sort of fact was hard to forget.

New Orleans.

She scooted over to the door and pressed her ear up against it. There was several thumps as someone descended the stairs. She waited just a moment longer, then pushed the door open.

Behind her, there were several loud protests. She winced, sure that someone would come upstairs.

When there was nothing, she looked back, realizing that the two things had been pulled behind her when she moved.

 _Great._ She was being haunted.

She pushed the door to the bathroom open and went inside, ignoring the comparatively loud complaints from behind her.

* * *

Meg watched as the door was opened. Her eyes caught on the man standing on the other side, who was standing there patiently.

Her mom decided to speak. "Yes?"

The man nodded to her. "I'm here to find out some information about Riley Andersen."

Meg continued to wipe her dish, only a little harder than before. Either way, she was sure that this conversation was going to be informative.

* * *

Riley pulled open the bathroom window as quietly as she could, the small clack still ringing out through the room. She was trying to ignore the conversation behind her, which she was actually doing fairly well at, but the voices still drifted into her ears.

"What's she doing?"

"Uh… Riley! That's a bad idea!"

"What?"

The blue figure was suddenly… in front of her? "Riley! What are you doing?"

Riley, in the vein of being quiet, pushed her out of the way, her hands sparking against the strange material she was apparently made of.

Then, she flipped outside the window, her hand grasping the sill. She shifted her feet onto the nearby ledge that hung over the lower level window. Reaching down slowly, balancing sideways on the wood, she grabbed the top. Then, she pushed herself off and hung down, viewing inside the living room, which was currently empty.

She looked down at the ground, about a foot away, and fell.

* * *

Inspector Chandler looked up at the thump. "What was that?"

Meg's mother looked over her shoulder towards the living room. "I'm not sure." She looked over at her daughter. "Meg, do you mind going and making sure that nothing important is broken?"

Meg nodded and scooted out of the room.

The Inspector stared after her. Then, he shook his head and turned back to the conversation. "So, you haven't heard anything?"

* * *

Meg rushed through the living room, her feet pattering on the wood floor. She raced up to the window and peeked out through the faded glass. The garden partially obscured her view, but she could still see the far side of the yard.

And on the far side, she caught a flash of silver as a certain backpack disappeared behind the fence.

She ran her fingers through her hair. This was _not_ the time! Where was Riley _going_?

She shook her head. Turning, she walked back up the stairs and into her room.

* * *

Inspector Chandler watched as the young child ran through the room past him and up the nearby stairs before turning back to his conversation partner. "So you haven't heard anything?"

Meg's mother shook her head. "Except for a phone call a few hours ago, I haven't been told anything. I was actually planning on going out to be with her parents."

The Inspector nodded. "Okay. Well, if you see anything, be sure to let me know, okay?"

She waved the card he had given her. "Yes. I can do that."

He scooted off of his chair and up from the table. "I guess I'll be hearing from you, then."

* * *

Meg slammed her fists into the bed. New Orleand? _Haunted?_ What was this madness?

It didn't make any sense! This wasn't like Riley - _none_ of this was like Riley. Riley wouldn't lie, wouldn't stay away from her parents - wouldn't stay away from _her_.

It just didn't make any _sense._ But what could she do about it?

She looked about her room for a moment. She needed to tell someone. But… she couldn't just _tell_ someone that Riley had slipped away.

Maybe she could help, too.

A plan formed in her mind as she grabbed her backpack off of her dresser.

* * *

Meg's Fear was quivering, not quite having enough gumption to throw himself on the console and prevent the inevitable. "Are you all out of your mind?"

Meg's Joy shook her head. "No. Look, we need to help somehow."

"Yes!" He threw his hands in the air. "But not like this! Not running away ourselves! That will cause all sorts of problems!"

Anger stepped away from the console for a moment. "She is our _friend_. We either help her or we go against Compassion Island. Which do you want?"

"We should just tell someone!" Fear exclaimed. "This isn't the right way!"

"Hey," Joy said, "We've always wanted to go on an adventure. This is the perfect opportunity."

Fear snorted. "Only if you want to be put in jail for several years."

* * *

Inspector Chandler left the building, his hands groping in his pocket for his key. He pulled it out and pulled the door open, realizing that he had accidentally forgotten to lock it.

It didn't really matter though - he had more important things to worry about.

* * *

He didn't notice that someone had crawled into his trunk.

* * *

 **End of Arc II**

* * *

 **We're back, and things are picking up the pace. Hopefully the long chapter will make up for the long gap.**

 **A lot of this stuff probably seems contrived, but there's a bunch of legitimate reasons for all of it that would be considered [spoilers].**

 **Anyway, I'll see you guys for Arc III soon.**


	24. (3:0) Travel

**(3:0) Travel**

* * *

 _Joy gripped as hard as she could, the world rumbling around her._

 _The blackness around her pulled her inwards, closer, farther, away from the scalding light._

 _Then, she was gripped…_

 _...and was pulled into her own shattered consciousness._

* * *

 **In  
** **Sight**

 **Arc III  
** **Road  
** **Trip  
** _ **or  
**_ **Bidimensionality**

 **Out  
** **Of  
** **Mind**

* * *

 _Meg gripped her backpack as hard as she could, the car rumbling around her._

 _The car pulled her forwards, deeper, getting farther away from her house._

 _Then she curled up a little tighter…_

 _...and put her hands over her ears against the infernal noise._


	25. (3:1) Temper

**(3:1) Temper**

* * *

Disgust slammed her fist into the metal door, the clanging sound the action made ringing through the chasm. She growled, kicking at the unyielding gate.

Behind her, a large crowd of Mind Workers were shifting and mumbling, clunks coming from various pieces of equipment. The steep pink stairwell that ran up the side of the cliff was congested, most of the individuals having stopped and turned to look at the green figure raging at the door.

Her palms smacked onto the cold metal one last time before she slid down onto her knees and her forehead fell against the door with a thud. She stayed there for a long moment, her eyes shut.

Then, she stood, turned, and slowly walked into the crowd, who began to move slowly up the cliff.

There was more behind this. She was sure of it.

She just had to find out what.

* * *

Riley was running.

Her backpack thumped against her back with a steady rhythm as she blazed down the small street. The wind rushed by her face, her hair blown back.

She stumbled off into a side street and slumped, letting out slight gasps. Her ears perked, and she listened closely. The breeze whistled through the alley, and a honk of a car echoed from behind her.

Then, there was a voice.

"Riley?"

She gritted her teeth.

"You don't have to run. We just want to help."

Riley turned and stared at the blue, glowing, most emphatically _not_ truthful ghost… thing. "If you want to help, you can _shut up_ and _go away_."

"Riley, please, you're not thinking clearly." Whatever it was extended an arm towards her.

"No kidding," Riley snorted. "I have two ghosts following me around and I'm 'not thinking clearly.' I never would have known!"

"You can't keep running from this." It stepped forwards. "Why do you keep trying to get away?"

"You wouldn't understand," Riley hissed. "You have _no idea_."

It blinked. "You think… I'm part of you. I know. I know better than you do."

"That, that right there, is crazy. You expect me to… to, just _accept_ that?" Riley snorted and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't think you understand."

She turned, but it spoke up behind her. "Maybe it's you who doesn't understand, Riley."

She pinched her eyes shut and ignored her growing unease and the loud ghost behind her. It was time to move.

With that thought, she ran.

* * *

Reynie was walking.

He shrugged his backpack farther up on his shoulders as he strolled, the sound of his feet drowned out by the noise from the street. He turned the next corner, keeping to the sidewalk.

The less crowded street led past several shops and stores. A musician who was strumming a guitar on the corner flashed him a smile. Reynie decided to walk over to him. He looked up and tilted his head, continuing to strum.

"Did you see a girl pass by? Blue hair, green dress?" He crossed his fingers behind his back.

The musician snorted. "You mean the one from a half an hour ago? Sure kid. She took the main road. I think she went down towards the Park."

"Thanks!" Reynie turned back to the street.

The musician rolled his eyes. "Kids these days…"

* * *

Disgust stared at the Mind Worker across from her. "Look, I'm leaving."

"But-!"

"No buts. You guys can handle yourselves." She grabbed her sword and pushed it back into her belt, which she had kept despite the fact that it clashed slightly with her dress. "You were doing it before I showed up."

The Mind Worker shook her head. "Where are you even going?"

Disgust shrugged. "I don't know. Somewhere. I've got to find my coworkers, first of all."

"Alright," the Mind Worker sighed. "Will you need help?"

Disgust tapped her chin. "Well, I could use some advice on a quick way through Long Term. I have no way to search all of it, so I might as well start at the major centers. Any suggestions on where to start?"

The Mind Worker smiled. "I've got just the thing."

* * *

Reynie walked onto the park grounds with some trepidation. The park, an enormous area of land meant for many different kinds of recreation, was going to be no mean feat to search.

Well, he didn't think that she had been here before. No… wait, she _definitely_ hadn't been here before. He grimaced.

She had been from San Francisco.

He shook his head. His headache was getting annoying…

* * *

Disgust looked up at the large metal wall in front of her, various pipes and bumps decorating its side. A door, decorated with black and white stripes and a red sign reading 'DANGER!' led inside. She raised her eyebrow.

"You want me to go in _there_? What is it?"

The Mind Worker nodded earnestly. "This is Abstract Thought. It actually runs through a majority of the Mind Space."

Disgust bit her lip. "Okay…"

"It's kind of strange, but it also allows for quick transport. It's a bit dangerous, but it can get you almost anywhere fairly quickly."

Disgust's eyebrows scrunched. "How does that work?"

"Well, the large pipeworks that you can see are actually meant to burn out the thoughts inside, which are given definition. To do this, it folds everything into a two dimensional plane and condenses it into it's most basic form, called its non-figurative form."

"Wouldn't that make me vanish?" Disgust asked, quailing slightly.

"Nope! That's the cool part- it can actually tell, at least a little bit." The Mind Worker pointed up at the sign. "That's mostly there as a formality, though it has made the occasional occupant vanish."

Disgust tilted her head. "So… how would that let me travel somewhere quickly?"

"Well, if I configure it so that the two dimensional plane is parallel to the door you want to leave from, instead of along its length. This allows you to leave before it becomes even sort of dangerous - you can just leave out the door, which are all open except for the weekly purge, which isn't for another six days."

Disgust stared at her. "You're sure about this?"

She nodded. "I run this particular door in my spare time. I'm sure."

Disgust nodded. "Well, it should get me there faster. I'll try it."

The Mind Worker grinned. "Great! Go on inside!"

Disgust climbed through the door, looking around at the dark room and the various blobs on the floor.

Then, the door shut behind her with a clang.

The room lit up with a brilliant white light.

* * *

 **I've never actually been to New Orleans, and most of my descriptions are coming direct from Google Maps research.**


	26. (3:2) Trunk

**(3:2) Trunk**

* * *

Meg scrunched down as the car passed over another bump, her prone form rattling in the uncomfortably small space. She kept her backpack clutched against her chest, its straps occasionally whacking her on the arm.

Getting restless, she pulled open her backpack and reached inside, her hands fiddling with its contents. Grabbing a round cylinder, she pulled it out and felt along its length until she found the rubber tip. She pressed down, and the trunk lit up, the flashlight shining over the black material.

Her light flashed around the small space as she looked around. Another bump rattled her and her head hit the ceiling. She refrained from yelling in pain, but put her hand up to her head and winced. She shifted and shined her light along the inside of the trunk's lid.

When she had crawled in here, she hadn't had time to check for anything - she hadn't been sure when he would come back, and she had had to make sure that he wouldn't notice. She began to look up and down the inside of the trunk for a latch of some sort.

She was thrown to the side as the car turned a corner, her backpack pinned against the wall. It then slowed down rapidly, but she gripped the carpeting as best she could to keep herself from slamming into the trunk's door.

The car slowed to a crawl and stopped. Then, the engine cut, and she could hear a door slammed behind her. There was several more thumps as someone climbed out of the cab and shut the door.

She shined her flashlight over the back of the trunk, giving it a more thorough glance now that the car had ceased moving. Reaching over to a small latch on one side of the trunk, she pulled on the metal grip.

The trunk popped open.

* * *

Disgust blinked as the walls lit up with a white glow and around her several geometric shapes of various sizes scattered about the tunnel floated upwards.

She walked away from the door, glancing up at one particularly large purple shape.

Then, there was a pop. She looked down…

"AUGH!"

* * *

Anger slammed his fist down on the console, staring up at the screen. Tints of red flickered under the impact point before dispersing. He grumbled under his breath. "Stupid plans. Stupid Sadness. Stupid Joy."

He moved away from the console, stomping over to the large window and staring out. "Come on, Disgust, I know you can bring them back."

* * *

Disgust, in fact, was panicking.

Her hands started to roam over her new, blockier form, trying to figure out what had happened. She stumbled into one of the floating shapes, but it drifted away instead of being a proper support. She fell to the floor with a clunk, her dress not softening the impact like it normally would since it was solid.

She tried to scramble to her feet, but as he hands hit the floor she started to fall apart, her various appendages splitting off from her torso. She tried to collect herself as best she could, arms and legs shoving her parts back together.

Then, a pop.

She was being squeezed - not in a particularly bad way, but it pressed her forwards, and inwards, and then it was... flat. It was hard to see, but she stumbled to - the left? Direction didn't really work in two dimensions. She couldn't even really look at herself (which she was at least partially glad for).

She pushed through the wads of the now flat shapes, trying to get over to the light that she assumed was the door. Her hands pushed at the tacky substance and shifted it enough to clamber up next to the door. She pushed herself out the open gate as the blocks behind her winked out of existence - and fell on her face.

She lay there groaning for a moment as her body readjusted, going from paper thin to blocky and then to smooth. She groaned.

"I am never doing that _ever_ again."

* * *

Riley trotted out of town along the side of the road, her hands clenched slightly. She could hear the sounds of a conversation behind her, but she ignored it as best she could. The buildings slowly gave way to more open land, and she stepped off of the asphalt and onto the grass to make the walking a bit easier.

"Riley?"

It was the pink thing again. Her hands clenched tighter, eyes not wavering from their view of the road ahead.

"I… I think we should talk."

"Well I _don't._ " Her voice was cold and sharp. "I think you should leave me alone."

She couldn't see it - mostly because she refused to turn her head - but she could have sworn she _felt_ it droop. There was a pause, and she tried to focus on the road ahead. She was _not_ turning to look. She _wasn't._

"I…" The apparition stopped for a moment, then started again. "I've always tried to help. To help _you,_ for sure."

"You aren't right now." The wind whistled, making her hair flutter. "You're just _annoying_ me."

"I'm not trying to," the ghost said plaintively.

"Then try not to."

"I'm _going_ to help you, Riley. Somehow."

Riley didn't dignify that with a response.

* * *

Reynie pulled out a map from the first stand he came to and he flicked it open. Sitting over on a nearby bench he spread the paper over the wood and bit his lip. He didn't really know much about her except her appearance and her hometown. Why had she even-

Right. He had found her… in an alley? Right. Totally normal. He had… uh…

Whatever. He could figure it out later.

Right now, he needed to find her. If she didn't have a place to live, she must be squatting here somewhere.

He looked over the map one more time, then folded it back up and stuffed it into his backpack. He shifted his backpack over his shoulders…

...and raced into the woods.

* * *

 **As a side note, all cars after 2002 were required to have a release in their trunk. (Oy vey, this took too long - and I'm still not sure I got Disgust's scene to play out the way I wanted it to. Sigh.)**

 **Anyway - guesses as to where Disgust is?**


	27. (3:3) Recollection

**(3:3) Recollection**

* * *

Disgust pushed herself to her feet, trying not to fall over. Once she was up on her feet, she looked around the space she had fallen into.

It was… a surprisingly normal room. A red carpet laid over the floor, with a bed in the right corner. A lamp had been placed on a nearby bedside table and was turned on, casting a light so that she could see. There were no windows, but a door was on the opposite wall.

Disgust hesitantly stepped into the middle of the room, the floor creaking. "Hello?"

There was no reply, the room just as normal and innocent as it was when she fell into it. The carpet softened the clicks as she walked across the room.

Reaching the door, she looked back one more time before turning and pulling it open.

* * *

Meg peeked out through the tiny gap between trunk lid and car frame. She could see the rushing of cars flashing past, various colors whizzing by. She pushed the lid open farther.

In front of her a fence lay in front of the sidewalk a large main road. She pushed herself out of the car, feet thumping onto the concrete. Crouching behind the trunk, she pulled it closed and peeked around towards the front.

A police station was in front of her - at least, that was her best guess from the large number of police cars. A large gate to the parking lot lay on one side of the fenced in area, and a door to the building's interior lay along one wall. Several windows lay open.

Meg shook her head. The trunk of that car was uncomfortable. She stretched for a moment, shrugging her backpack up on her shoulders, and crept over towards the building.

* * *

Disgust pushed herself through the doorway before turning and shutting it behind her. Once she had turned back around, she looked around the space she had walked into.

It was… a surprisingly normal room. A red carpet laid over the floor, with a bed in the left corner. A lamp had been placed on a nearby bedside table and was turned on, casting a light so that she could see. There were no windows, but a door was on the opposite wall.

Disgust hesitantly stepped into the middle of the room, the floor creaking. "Hello?"

There was no reply, the room just as normal and innocent as it was when she walked into it. The carpet softened the clicks as she walked across the room.

Reaching the door, she looked back one more time before turning and pulling it open.

* * *

Reynie took the gravel walking path, clearly defined against the green grass to either side. The stones crunched as he turned down a side path and glanced around. The trees bent around him in the wind as he glanced out over the small pond.

He continued to walk around the body of water as he glanced around furtively. It wasn't as if he really knew if she would be here, but it was the most secluded area of the park. His feet took him around a tree, passing several shrubs. His eyes widened.

It was her! She was lying on a bench, blue hair a mess. That wasn't the real problem though...

...who the heck was that guy?

* * *

Disgust pushed herself through the doorway, looking around the space she had walked into. The door was left open behind her.

It was… a surprisingly normal room. A blue carpet laid over the floor, with a bed in the left corner. A lamp had been placed on a nearby bedside table and was turned on, casting a light so that she could see. There was a window, but it was covered over with a set of red curtains. A door was on the opposite wall.

Disgust blinked and scratched her head, hesitantly stepping into the middle of the room, the floor creaking. "Hello?"

There was no reply, the room just as normal and innocent as it was when she walked into it. The carpet softened the clicks as she walked across the room.

Reaching the door, she looked back one more time.

Across the room, the door was open.

"But I could have sworn…" Disgust blinked. "I…"

She shook her head. It was nothing.

She turned and pulled the door open.

* * *

Riley sat on the fence outside of town, looking for traffic in both directions. Cars sped past her, various colors whizzing by. A faux smile was plastered onto her face.

As the cars passed her, she stuck out her hand, thumb pointed out towards the south in the direction of the road.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

Riley's hand that was currently stretched out stiffened slightly.

"I… I'm not Fear, but even I remember that lesson on Stranger Danger."

Riley hissed behind her under her breath. "I remember, I just don't care."

There was a pause. Riley stuck out her thumb again as another car passed her by.

"It's just… why?"

Riley shook her head. "I thought you _understood_."

"I _do_ understand. It's just that you don't seem to."

"It's my body, damnit!" Riley stuck her thumb out aggressively. "You just keep coming. I'll weed you all out of my damn mind."

And with that a car screeched to a stop in front of her.

As Riley walked forwards, she didn't hear Sadness's next remark. "What?"

* * *

Disgust pushed herself through the doorway, slamming it against the wall behind her. She looked around the space she had walked into.

It was… completely dark. She blinked. There was no light anywhere she could see. She put out a hand and stepped forwards. "Hello?"

There was no reply, the room just as dark as it was when she walked into it. A carpet of some sort softened the clicks as she walked across the room.

Reaching a handle, she looked furtively back into the dark room and shivered for a moment.

She pushed the door open.

* * *

 **Sorry for the cursing. To be fair, this is rated T.**


	28. (3:4) Discuss

**(3:4) Discuss**

* * *

Meg crept up next to the wall of the building as silently as possible. She ducked between two police cars parked next to the wall, scooching next to the open window. She could hear the sound of talking coming from the opening.

" _-well, maybe if you hadn't insisted on coming yourself, this wouldn't have happened!"_

" _But I… she…"_

" _Look, it doesn't matter. I'll send out a dispatch to the various counties. She's bound to be around."_

" _And what about the other one?"_ Meg recognized the voice as the Inspector's and perked her ears a little higher.

" _If she's really that determined to follow her, she'd be enroute to New Orleans as well. The mother wasn't too specific on the phone. She might be able to give us more information once she gets here."_

" _Should I drive down towards there? If they make it there, I might be able to catch them."_

" _I'll just alert the sector down there. You know they're used to crazies."_

" _But I want to help!"_

" _It doesn't matter. Don't you have a more important job to do?"_

" _No. I don't."_

There was a gap in the conversation, and Meg waited, the air inside obviously tense. Then, the voice she didn't recognize sighed.

" _Fine. But you've been on the road all day. Take Officer Barrow with you, he'll be able to-"_

" _No! Absolutely not!"_

" _Look, I know you have a little bad blood between you, but-"_

" _He almost got me killed! I'd say that's a little more than some 'bad blood'!"_

" _Well, he's the best we've got. Are you saying that you don't want any backup? At all?"_

" _You know that there's others. Why are you so insistent on pushing us together?"_

" _I send him with you because he's the best, not because I want to punish you! You're a professional - act like one!"_

There was the sound of heavy breathing.

" _Fine. I'll take him. Now I am going to get a small bit of rest before he shows up."_

" _Good."_

The sound of a door slamming came through the window.

* * *

Disgust pushed herself through the doorway, looking around the space she had walked into. The warm light of the room flowed over her. Behind her, the door drifted closed with a click.

It was… a surprisingly normal room. A red carpet laid over the floor, with a bed in the left corner. A bunch of candles had been placed on a nearby bedside table and were lit, casting a light so that she could see. There were no windows. A door was on the opposite wall.

Disgust blinked and scratched her head, hesitantly stepping into the middle of the room, the floor creaking. "Hello?"

There was no reply, the room just as normal and innocent as it was when she walked into it. The carpet softened the clicks as she walked across the room.

Reaching the door, she looked back one more time. Her eyebrows scrunched as she viewed the room. The three walls, blank and unadorned, filled her vision. "But… I thought…"

She bit her lip, and opened the door.

* * *

Reynie looked out from behind his tree, face confused. The man, who was currently leaning over the bench with an odd look on his face, had a metal box in one hand. He was poking the occupant of the bench - the girl with the blue hair he remembered from earlier. She was stirring at the device's touch, but the man didn't seem to notice.

His hand gripped the tree. The man obviously knew there was something was odd about… her. He watched as he pulled out something from the backpack he had placed on the ground - some sort of wires, bright blue and fairly long. He didn't seem to notice as she started to twitch.

He scooped up a rock from the ground, palming it in his hand. As the man moved the wires close to the girl's head, Reynie pulled his arm back, aiming the best he could.

Then, he chucked it.

The rock whistled through the air and…

...totally missed, whizzing way over the man's head.

Reynie pulled himself back behind the tree, barely catching view as the man turned to look over at him. _Dang it._

There was a moment, and he perked his ear up, listening. The wind rustling the trees was the only sound.

He waited for another second, then slowly poked his head out from behind the trunk. Who ever it was had turned back to what he was doing.

The blue wires he was holding came closer-

Joy's head jerked up.

* * *

Waking up was… different.

Granted, she was expecting this - everything had been different since she had come around in that back alley. She just wasn't expecting the sharp pain in her forehead. She winced and cracked her eyes open, arms propping up her upper body slightly.

Maybe it had more to do with the man she'd just slammed her head into rather than the actual waking up. That seemed likely.

He was fairly tall - he must have been bent over for her to even come remotely close to his forehead. He was carrying a pair of blue wires, snaking down and into a backpack on the ground.

The oddest part about him, though, was his sickly yellow aura. It glowed only in patches, the rest being an obscuring grey. It seemed to settle heavily over the portions of the body it covered.

She twisted so that she could sit up, looking over at him. "Hello?"

He jerked forwards and slammed the wires against her forehead.

 _There was a shining golden light._

 _There was a flashing pain._

 _There_

 _was_

 _Silence._

* * *

Disgust pushed herself through the doorway, looking around the space she had walked into. The warm light of the room flowed over her. Behind her, the door drifted closed with a click.

It was…

It was…

...why did it seem so _off_?

There was a rug, and she could see some sort of light source, and there was a door on the far wall, but none of it was really _there._ It was like it wasn't quite _real._

She walked over to the bed, the carpet - _What color was it, exactly?_ \- softening her footsteps. Her hand pressed into the - _Sheets? Wood? Pillow?_ \- soft, but hard. She looked up at the wall, the window - _Closed?_ _Open?_ \- letting a breeze in.

She went over and looked out -

-something grabbed her shirt and pulled her through.

* * *

Riley peeked in through the rolled down window. The car, a small hatchback, wasn't too much taller than she was. "Hi?"

A man and a woman, both on the younger side, sat in the two seats at the front of the car. The woman turned to look at her. "Hello! Do you need a ride?"

Riley nodded, shifting her backpack up. "It would be appreciated."

"Where you going?"

"Three or four towns over. As far as you can take me, if you can."

The woman smiled. "Sure. We're going through Owatonna, if you want us to drop you there."

Riley nodded and pulled the back door of the car open, sliding into the seat. Shrugging her backpack off of her shoulders, she slid it into the middle seat, a purse and another backpack in the far right.

As the car pulled away, the two _things_ … phased through the floor? … and sat next to her. They seemed to be whispering to each other.

She sighed. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long delay. Road trips across the country wait for no man!**

 **I should be back to weekly updates, but life's been a bit strange lately, so no promises.**


	29. (3:5) String

**(3:5) String**

* * *

 _It was dark._

 _It wasn't supposed to be dark. The light - it had been blinding before. Now, she felt cold, offset from the burn._

 _She pulled her hand away from where it had been wrapped around something, sitting back. It wasn't supposed to be this difficult._

 _She looked up..._

 _...and the world brightened._

* * *

Disgust blinked her eyes, a sudden light flashing as her feet connected with the floor. The hand that was gripping her shoulder helped her steady herself.

"Not too many go through there any more." The voice, a light, steady tone that was markedly stabler than her sporadic vision helped her look up. The Mind Worker met her gaze. "What do you need?"

"I… I need…" She shook her head. "I'm looking for my coworkers."

The Mind Worker nodded. "Where are you from?"

"Headquarters." She glanced up at his surprised face. "Things have been going down hill. Have you seen anyone strange come through?"

"Not recently." He shrugged. "No one has come through Motor Skills we had the last growth spurt."

There was a flicker. She glanced over at her companion and... she could have sworn he just turned green.

"But I…" Disgust frowned. "But.."

He grabbed under her shoulder, and started to walk with her down the hallway. "It'll get better. Déjà vu really does a number on your essence."

She shuddered. "What do you mean? Is Déjà vu that place I was in?"

"Yeah. Déjà vu is there for when Riley needs to remember something to compare, but can't." The Mind Worker shrugged. "Going through it usually gives individuals recollections of things that happened, even if they weren't there to see them."

"So you… were green?"

He blinked. "Once. A long time ago."

"Ah." Disgust kept leaning on him. "What happened?"

"Riley got older. Her favorite color used to be green - now it's blue." He looked up. "Or maybe purple. It's hard to tell sometimes."

Disgust nodded. "Right now it's purple."

He looked over. "How do you know?"

"I'm Disgust. It's kind of my job."

"Alright, then." They reached the end of the corridor. "Disgust, welcome to Motor Skills."

He pulled the door open.

* * *

" _Hello?"_

 _Her voice was swallowed in the growing brightness, swirls of darkness playing around the corners of the pulsing yellow light. In the center of the light, a figure walked forwards. Around it, darkness flashed._

 _It came out of the light, and Joy gasped._

 _If it weren't for the male figure, she could have sworn it was herself._

 _Beneath his hands, black wisps crackled._

"Hi, _Joy_. We need to talk."

* * *

Anger watched as the screen closed down, Riley's eyes sliding shut. Outside, the sky faded to a darker black.

He leaned back in his chair. The blue undertones of the console illuminated the otherwise dark headquarters. The empty racks around the room mocked him, empty as ever.

He grumbled under his breath. "Well, it's not worth waiting for _nothing_."

He had several hours until Dream-state Sleep anyway. He trudged up into the sleeping quarters.

As he lay in the bed, he couldn't help but feel that, despite their normal incessant chatter, he really would like his friends back.

* * *

Motor Skills was a large room.

The ceiling arched overhead, windows that allowed you to see the sky integrated into the colorful metal pieces supporting it. The balcony they were on ran up to a handrail, and a set of metal stairs led to the work floor. Mind Workers ran about on the ground, swapping parts and generally making themselves useful. On the far side of the room, a large metal structure of some sort was built into the wall.

By far the most interesting part of the room, though, was the giant skeleton in the middle.

It was in a sitting position, suspended in mid air. Disgust couldn't see any strings or suspension, and there was nothing supporting it from underneath. The massive bones turned, ligaments audibly creaking as it changed its sitting position. Pieces of the skeleton flickered red for a moment before resting.

"Is that… Riley?" Disgust gazed at the huge replica, slightly awed.

"Sure is. It's a model so that we can monitor her. The red flickering you can probably see is when muscles are working."

"That's amazing." She looked up and down. "Is that really what she looks like?"

The Mind Worker nodded. "It's as accurate as we can make it."

Disgust leaned on the handrail. "As you can make it?"

"Haven't you ever noticed whenever she has a growth spurt, she keeps running into things by accident?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's the model catching up with the new height and weight."

Disgust looked back at the model. It seemed to warp for a moment, becoming slightly shorter. The room grew darker, windows above closing, Mind Workers slowly walking around, and-

The Mind Worker at her shoulder shook her, and she winced, holding one hand to her head. "Ow…"

"Yeah, we should probably get you some rest. How does that sound?"

She nodded.

* * *

Fear sat, looking out the window and over the memory dump. He could see long term memory, the glowing corridors gradually losing their luster as grey encroached over the edge of the dump. It was losing battle.

He could see Dream Productions - a glistening beacon against the darkness. The pit of the Subconscious lay next to it, hard to make out from the distance.

The Winds whistled, and Headquarters shuddered slightly. A single cable, originally used to attach to Family Island, whipped around from its anchor on headquarters, crossing in front of the window Fear was sitting behind.

He looked for another moment, then turned back to his books.

* * *

 **Dream-state Sleep is REM Sleep.**


	30. Interlude III: Joy

**Interlude III: Joy**

* * *

" _Who are you?"_

 _Joy stared up at him, unsure. He was wearing some sort of white coat, which clashed with the yellow of his skin. His blue hair was short, cropped just enough to look manageable._

 _He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "_ My name is Joy _."_

 _She blinked. "That can't be right. My name is Joy."_

"Yes, it is. Mine is too." _He leaned down. "_ It comes with the territory."

 _Joy just stared at him. His eyes glinted, and she could have sworn she could have seen something… dark. Hidden. She stiffened._

" _You're… an emotion?"_

 _He nodded slowly. "_ Like you."

 _She scooted backwards. "Well, I'm sure that's fun! Now, why don't you… go back to your Mind World! Or something."_

"Now, I can't do that! I need this place - it's the only one of it's kind, did you know that?" _He crept forwards. "_ You're unique. An anomaly."

" _Thanks for the compliment, but as nice as it was, you're_ really _creeping me out." She flicked a hand back at the glowing space behind him. "Can you… you know, go?"_

 _He grinned at her with a sharp, artificial smile, ignoring her. "_ You know Emotica, _Joy_? How did you get past them? Make it here?"

 _She gaped at him. "What?"_

"You must have done something." _One of his hands was pulled from his pocket, black smoke tinging it. "_ It's not like you could be here for no reason."

 _She shrugged, eyes locked on his hand. "I don't know. I was just dumped here."_

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. Maybe they'll look away when I do this." _He gave her a sinister grin. "_ After all, you're just as unnatural as I am."

 _He slammed his black hand towards her._

 _She threw up her hands over her face. The punch threw her backwards, skidding across the substance that made the floor and towards the pulsing light he had emerged from._

 _She looked up, dazed. He was walking towards her again, darkness around his entire figure. She scrambled to her feet just in time to grasp ineffectually at his wrist. He flipped her over onto the ground, twisting her hand over her head.. His hand held her to the floor, pressing against her shoulder. She started to breath quicker, heart pumping as tendrils of darkness came towards her, getting closer, and darker, and by Emotica they were right there and -_

 _She exploded in shining light._

Joy _was forced backwards, radiance stripping him from the black wreathing his body._

 _She could feel hope, the happiness, the eternal light of_ _ **Joy**_ _._

 _He screamed at her. "_ I need this! You can't take this from me!"

" _This isn't yours to take! This is my ideal - this is_ your _ideal. Why can't you see the_ _ **Joy**_ _?"_

"I have!" _Darkness flared to life, pushing back against her light. "_ Do you think I haven't tried? Not everyone wants _**Joy**_! My host didn't even want me!"

" _They aren't there for us - we are there for them!" She yelled, forging forwards. "It doesn't matter. You were meant to be the light for him. Happiness. Hope." Her hand reached out. "Don't those mean anything?"_

"Of course they-"

* * *

Reynie hit Doctor Lyre in the head with a rock.

* * *

 _There was a fierce wind, echoing, pulling, grabbing, and Joy grasped at something, trying to get a grip-_

 _Joy's  
_ eyes blinked open.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Joy_ is the protagonist. Joy is the antagonist. _**Joy**_ is the concept. **Joy** is the chapter title.


	31. (3:6) Drift

**(3:6) Drift**

* * *

Joy sat up with a jerk.

Her heart racing, she looked back and forth, hands scrabbling to grab onto the bench instinctively. There was no wind, there was no dark figure. She let out a breath.

Across from her, Reynie dropped the rock onto the ground, a rainbow of color swirling in his aura. Beside him, Professor Lyre was on the ground, groaning and barely stirring. "Joy? Are you okay?"

She nodded mutely, shuddering. One of her hands reached up and yanked at the wire dangling there, throwing it to the side. Her feet pressed up to her chest.

He gripped her shoulder, yellow spreading from the point of contact. "Come on, we need to get out of here." Her head shook a negative, simply wanting to sit and digest, but he pulled at her hand. "We don't have time! Come on!"

She stumbled to her feet. "Alright… Reynie! Yes!" She paused for a moment. "Why are you here again?"

"You're weird." He shrugged. "Also, you gave me a headache."

She nodded. "Yeah. Probably."

The body of the Professor gave another groan, and Reynie glanced down. "We have to go- that guy is crazy, and I don't want to get caught."

She gripped his hand. "Right."

The yellow intensified over the purple hue his aura had adopted, and he gave a small laugh. "Right. Let's go."

They went off through the trees.

* * *

Riley stood on the sidewalk, gratuitously nodding to the couple as they left. The car left with a small cloud of exhaust in the cold air. She pulled her thin hoodie a bit snugger over her shoulders, a small protection against the frigid temperature. Her footsteps, alone on the empty street, faded softly in the dying light.

"I'm not sure about this." Sadness pulled her hands under the sleeves of her sweater, shivering.

Riley spared a glance, then shoved her hands in her own pockets. "Well, it's a good thing I wasn't asking you."

Sadness hesitated, and gripped her shoulder. "I… We…" Under her hand, something flickered blue. "You don't have to be alone."

Riley clenched her fist, and Sadness blinked.

Her fist relaxed. "Just stay out of the way."

Sadness spared a glance for Bing Bong.

He shrugged in return.

* * *

Sleeping when Riley was awake was one of the things Disgust had trained herself never, ever to do.

After all, it had only taken one instance of her accidentally missing breakfast and waking up to an awful taste in her mouth to never let those fools choose what Riley ate again, thank you very much.

On the other hand, she needed the rest.

She stared purposefully at the ceiling, an appealing plaster spread thin between decorative support beams. The shaded windows let in specks of light, catching her eyes and generally making themselves a nuisance.

Shadows flashed over the ceiling, something loud echoing, screaming, _catching, falling, reaching, crawling -_

 _\- fact, thought, knowledge -_

 _\- screeching -_

 _\- it's for her own good -_

 _\- darkness -_

She fainted.

* * *

Getting on another bus was fairly easy.

The bored man had simply accepted Riley's emotionless face and cash without complaint, handing over a ticket and pointing to the bus in the parking lot. She stood out in the cold, several others waiting in line with baggage stowed underneath the bus already.

She sat on the nearby bench, waiting for the driver to let the passengers on.

"You look cold."

Riley didn't bother looking over at the old lady she had sat next to. "I'm fine."

"Could've fooled me." There was a significant pause. "Well, it's your choice, but I recommend talking to whoever you're angry at before you walk off in a huff too far."

Riley did give a glance then. "What?"

"I've seen a lot of frustrated children in my time, missy. They're always the same, no matter how old I get."

"You don't know anything." Riley's voice bit in the wind, and she looked away.

"Just like you weren't arguing with your parents, right?"

"..."

"Just call home. It's easier. _Trust me._ "

The bus doors opened, and Riley stood up. "Sorry. I can't. Please don't try to help."

"Make it home safe."

As she climbed the stairs, Riley took a glance back, then whispered, "No promises."

Sadness and Bing Bong shared a glance.

"Riley…"

"Not now."

They were quiet.

* * *

Joy sat on the bench, giggling. "He was right there! See, I didn't know why someone would want to find me, but that makes total sense!"

Reyne bit his lip, sitting next to her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Never better! I only just found out someone wants to _kill me_ , of course I'm okay!"

Reyne winced. "Are you… are _we_ in danger?"

"Not right now, but give it a couple hours." She abruptly stopped the panicked hiccuping she was passing off as laughter, and substituted it for a wail. "I don't know anymore!"

Reyne hesitated, and tentatively put an arm around her shoulder. "I can help if you tell me a bit. What's going on?"

"Okay, right, focus." She calmed slightly, and took a breath. "Well, the short version is that I'm an emotion, and I was pushed into the memory dump by accident…"

* * *

" _ *** &$#-"**_

" _Disgust?"_

" _Fear?"_

" _Oh, thank goodness. I thought I'd killed you - well, not really, but with everything being the way it is I thought you might be dead and oh my gosh what if you really are and -"_

" _Fear!"_

" _Sorry, sorry."_

" _How are you even doing this?"_

" _Well, I've been reading the mind manuals."_

" _And…?"_

" _Well, one of the manuals suggested that, as the center of higher cognitive thought, the Headquarters could be used as an access terminal for the lower neurological levels, and, in essence, create a stable link for communication if a significant source of recall traveled far enough."_

" _Uh… what?"_

" _Headquarters is a home phone. You're a cell phone."_

" _Oh! Why didn't you just say so?"_

" _Sorry! I didn't mean to -"_

" _It's_ alright _Fear, I've just been through some stuff. What did you call me for?"_

" _Did it hurt? I mean, I didn't test it, and -"_

" _ **Fear!**_ "

" _Er… sorry."_

" _What's going on? How is Headquarters?"_

" _...I'm just trying not to think about it too much."_

" _In what way?"_

" _Good news - we have Sadness. Bad news - we don't have Joy. Apocalyptic news - Sadness is somehow_ interacting with Riley!"

" _What!?"_

" _I have no idea, and I'm trying to keep it that way so I don't go off the rails. Anger's doing the best he can, I think."_

" _No, back up,_ what? _What happened to Joy?"_

" _We don't know, okay! Sadness is outside, she can't tell us, and we're afraid to pull the plug on that because it's the only thing keeping the dashboard from turning completely black."_

" _..."_

" _Are you still looking for her?"_

" _Yes, Fear."_

" _Oh, well that's good."_

" _..."_

" _Where are you, anyway?"_

" _I'm in Motor Skills. It's fairly far away from Headquarters, actually."_

" _How did you even make it out that far? That's so far away!"_

" _It's not important. Is there anything out here that I could do to help, or should I head back? I don't think Joy would be this far away."_

" _If you're out that far already…"_

" _Yes?"_

" _You could try finding the other terminal."_

" _There's another terminal?"_

" _It's not really another terminal, it's just the center for logical thought. It's on the Other Side."_

" _The other side of what?"_

" _No, the Other Side. It's a title. The Mindscape is round, see? Well, the dump goes down really far, but it's also mirrored on the other side, like a marble."_

" _Uh…"_

" _The logical part of the mind, or maybe the baser part if you want to be technical, is on the Other Side."_

" _Really?"_

" _Well, logical isn't the best monicker, but the Fact Bank is down there. Think of this side as morality - or maybe perception - and that side as unbiased reaction and free thought."_

" _Well, that's… interesting. Is it important?"_

" _If you can go down there somehow, it's how Riley is functioning without us. You might need to be there to switch control back over once we solve the problem."_

" _I'll see what I can do."_

" _In Motor Skills, there should be some sort of way to cross over to the other side, like a cliff or something. Maybe a tunnel? I can go look."_

" _That's fine Fear. I can figure it out. It sounds like you should sleep."_

" _I can't. Too busy. I'll link back if you're still in range."_

" _But-"_

" _ **-#$ &*"**_

* * *

Chandler got back into the parking lot. Before he got in the front seat, he glanced over and noticed the trunk was popped open. Walking over to look, he peered in.

It was empty. Shrugging, he turned back to his partner.

"Get in, Barrow."

The doors slammed shut, and the car drove away.

* * *

"One ticket to New Orleans."

Meg handed over her hard earned money and clambered onto the bus.

The door shut behind her with a hiss.

* * *

 **A/N: I've been taking psychology, in case you haven't noticed.**

 **(The Mindscape is the Ego, the Other Side is the Id, and This Side is the Super-Ego. That was the original intent, anyway.**

 **Don't worry if you don't know what that means - it doesn't matter regardless.)**


End file.
